In July 2025, the first International School of Political Participation for Girls and Women with Disabilities “LEADERKA” took place in Brussels — at the very heart of European decision-making.
From 14 to 18 July, 13 young women with disabilities from EU candidate countries participated in a five-day intensive programme dedicated to political participation, leadership, advocacy, and the rights of persons with disabilities at both national and European levels.
Among the speakers were leading European and Ukrainian leaders, human rights defenders, politicians, and experts in human rights and inclusion:
Katrin Langensiepen, Member of the European Parliament from Germany and the first person with a visible disability elected to the European Parliament; Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian human rights defender, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Olha Aivazovska, civic leader and Chair of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA; Yuliia Sachuk, disability rights activist, founder of Fight For Right, and leader of the women with disabilities movement in Ukraine; Stéphanie Lange, Belgian lawyer and politician, and the first Member of Parliament with a disability in Belgium; Irene Ceccanti, human rights expert at the European Commission; Sofia Grünwald, Political Officer in the Ukraine Service at the European Commission; Antonella Candiago, policy expert at the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL); Jana Degrott, politician and activist from Luxembourg, who inspired participants to boldly advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities.
The School programme combined theoretical learning with practical experience. Participants explored the institutional system of the European Union, mechanisms for influencing political decision-making, and engaged in group discussions, networking sessions, and meetings with women politicians, including Members of the European Parliament. A key component of the School was building solidarity and fostering an international community of women with disabilities ready to participate in decision-making processes in their countries and within the EU accession dialogue.
The project was implemented by Fight For Right in partnership with ENIL, with the support of Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and Choose Love.
On 3-6 November 2023 in Lviv, a two-year educational programme for girls with disabilities aged 13-15 was launched as part of the School of Political Participation “LEADERKA-Teenager,” implemented by the NGO Fight For Right.
23 participants from across Ukraine came together to learn how to stand up for their rights and achieve success. Well-known and influential women of Ukraine shared their experiences and, through their own examples, demonstrated that disability is not a barrier to gaining recognition in a chosen field, holding top positions, or realising one’s potential in political life and beyond. They also affirmed that the participants of the School have every chance to become strong leaders in the future.
The project is implemented with the support of the Finnish Local Cooperation Fund.
This year, the NGO Fight For Right held the School of Political Participation for Girls and Women with Disabilities “LEADERKA” abroad, in Prague. The School took place for the third time.
Over the course of four days – from 9 to 12 July 2023 – women and girls with disabilities attended lectures by leading speakers from Europe and around the world on how to advocate for their rights.
Five of the most active LEADERKA participants were given the opportunity to undertake internships in Ukrainian and European institutions.
We are grateful to our partners at IFES Ukraine for their support in implementing the third LEADERKA School.
On the eve of the full-scale invasion, we announced the selection of participants for the first online LEADERKA course and received 103 applications from girls and women across the country.
We planned to send the selection results to applicants on 25 February 2022, and a full-scale Russian war came to our country.
We had to abandon our plans and urgently reorient our team.
Instead, we were given a chance to demonstrate our leadership potential like never before and to stand up for our families and our state.
Women with disabilities volunteer, save lives, serve in the army, support the information front, take part in rallies in support of Ukraine, and represent our country internationally.
We are grateful to our partners, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), for their understanding and flexibility when we had to redirect our efforts toward evacuating people with disabilities.
From 16 to 19 May 2021, the “School of Political Participation for Girls and Women with Disabilities ‘LEADERKA’” took place.
That year, 15 girls and women aged 17 to 40 from all over the country participated in the School.
The School was opened by Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union. Among the speakers and guests were also: Iryna Fedorovych, Director of the NGO “Social Action Center”, Mariia Nasedkina, governance consultant in the civic sector and Best Trainer according to ISAR Ednannia (2020), Nataliia Okhotnikova, human rights lawyer ranked 8th among Ukrainian lawyers practicing before the European Court of Human Rights, Inna Pidluska, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation and others.
The facilitator of the second School was Yana Salakhova, an independent expert on non-discrimination, hate crimes, and hate speech, practitioner of the Theatre of the Oppressed, and Head of the NGO “Theatre of Change”.
As part of the School, a visit to the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine was organised, during which participants had the opportunity to meet with Minister Maryna Lazebna and present their work.
In 2021, the project was implemented with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
From 19 to 21 November 2019, the first School of Political Participation for Girls and Women with Disabilities “LEADERKA” in Ukraine took place in Kyiv. Over the course of three days, twenty participants from all corners of the country learned more about the fundamentals of political participation in Ukraine, leadership in politics, mechanisms of influence on decision-making, and the role of women in state-building.
The School featured Ukrainian and international women leaders as speakers, including:
Bronwyn Cruden, Deputy Director of the International Development Department of the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine, Yaryna Ferentsevych, Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State for Eastern Europe, Eva Katinka Schmidt, Head of the Justice, Freedoms and Civic Space Unit of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Iryna Suslova, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the VIII convocation, Olha Aivazovska, Coordinator of Election Programs at the OPORA Civil Network and other prominent women leaders.
The School was facilitated, and the personal development sessions were moderated by Oksana Potapova, co-founder of the “Theatre for Dialogue” initiative.
Within the framework of the School, a meeting was organised with representatives of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, during which participants were able to ask the most pressing questions regarding the observance of the rights of women with disabilities in various spheres of public life.
Who can become a participant of the School?
The LEADERKA School selects 15 girls and women with disabilities aged 16 to 30 from cities, towns, villages, and regions across the country. Age is not a decisive selection criterion. If you truly want to stand up for the rights of all girls and women, are ready to learn and work hard, show your motivation in the application — and perhaps you will become the next LEADERKA 😉
How can you apply to the School?
To apply, you need to fill in an application form and record a short video (up to one minute) on the topic “What I want to change in my country.” Why a video? When we say we are looking for real leaders, we mean it. Our participants must be ready for public speaking and giving interviews.
When is the next intake?
Information about the next intake to the School is published on the main page of our website and on our social media channels. Follow our updates so you don’t miss it.
