Themes by tag: Lviv

The third international ophthalmic surgery mission, Vision for Ukraine, organized by the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine, is underway in Kyiv and Lviv. Three surgeons from the United States arrived in Ukraine to collaborate with local specialists on complex clinical cases.

Among the mission’s patients are military personnel who have lost sight in one or both eyes and part of their faces due to mine and explosive injuries. Organizers describe these free surgeries as unprecedented because surgeons use an innovative approach involving 3D implants to reconstruct eye orbits, jaws, and skulls.

Background: Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine team has conducted over ten international missions, providing free surgeries to more than 850 patients.

Arrangements can be made to speak with surgeons and patients in person in Lviv until June 20.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Lviv

The international forum Unbroken Justice will run for two days in Lviv, bringing together leading voices in law, human rights, and trauma recovery.

The program will begin on June 23 with a public discussion titled Justice and Time, featuring British legal scholar and author Philippe Sands alongside French psychoanalyst Beatrice Patsalides Hofmann. 

The following day, June 24, will mark the official opening of the St. Leo the Great Mental Health Center, the first facility in Ukraine specifically designed to support individuals who have endured captivity, torture, and psychological trauma. The center will also host a series of panel discussions exploring critical topics, including:

– Psychological support for victims of torture;

– Accountability for crimes against humanity;

– The prospect of establishing a tribunal for vladimir putin;

– Community resilience in the face of war. 

Among the featured speakers are neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjorn Berge, and Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ukrainian human rights defender and Armed Forces officer Maksym Butkevych, who spent two years and four months in russian captivity, will also take part in the discussions.

Advance registration is required to attend the event. 

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

From June 11 to 13, Lviv will host the Lviv Urban Forum. This international event, now in its third year, will bring foreign and Ukrainian architects, urban planners, activists, and local government representatives together in Lviv. The event is expected to attract approximately 1,500 participants, including city mayors, architects, urban planners, students, community representatives, and interested citizens.

Amidst global challenges and war, this year’s forum will focus on the theme “Building Continuity”, exploring comprehensive urban planning and development approaches.

The intensive, three-day program will include urban excursions, workshops, book presentations, networking opportunities, and lectures and discussions with leading global practitioners.

International architects behind iconic European urban projects will speak at the event, including:

• Miroslav Šik, founder of the “analog architecture” concept; 
• Johannes Tovatt, the architect behind one of the largest modern urban projects, Aspern Seestadt in Vienna;
• Isabell Klunker, head of the Munich office of Max Dudler Architekten;
• Dr. Philippe Samyn, architect of the European Council Headquarters (EUROPA) building in Brussels
• Catherine Gall, author of the “15-minute City Model”

The full program of the event is available to journalists.

Background: The event is organized by the Department of Architecture of the Lviv City Council and the Ukrainian Urban Platform.

• culture
• Lviv

Andrii Novosad is a physical therapist by profession, though he had never worked in the field. When the full-scale invasion began, he started volunteering by making Molotov cocktails and weaving camouflage nets for the military.

One day, a friend who worked at a rehabilitation center called Andrii to tell him about the shortage of specialists working with severely wounded soldiers. Without hesitation, Andrii began working as a physical therapist. While working, he saw a soldier who had lost both hands being fed by his wife. This inspired Andrii to start thinking about adaptive devices that could help the wounded eat independently.

He discussed the problem with his parents, who are engineers and manufacture rehabilitation equipment. Together, they developed a prototype of adaptive tableware and gave it to soldiers for testing. The design includes two types of special cuffs — one with a fork and one with a spoon. Soldiers can put on and take off these utensils without assistance.

Currently, Andrii and his family provide them free of charge to those with double amputations or anyone in need.

You can contact Andrii Novosad online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• volunteers
• Lviv

On June 1, International Children’s Day, Lviv will host a charity auction featuring a collection of rare and high-profile items. Proceeds from the event will go toward the development and support of the children’s rehabilitation unit at St. Nicholas Hospital, part of the UNBROKEN ecosystem. The facility provides care for children recovering from serious illnesses, surgeries, trauma, burns, and war-related injuries.

Among the exclusive auction items:

• A T-shirt signed by soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo (starting price: USD 1,500);
  
• Original rhinestones from Michael Jackson’s iconic gloves (starting price: USD 1,200);
  
• A soccer ball autographed by players of the Ukrainian national team (starting price: USD 1,000);
  
• A facsimile of the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, signed by Metropolitan Epiphanius (starting price: USD 1,000);
  
• A soccer ball signed by players of FC Karpaty (starting price: USD 500). 

Media representatives must obtain accreditation to attend the event.

• children
• Lviv

On May 22, 2025, Lviv will host the second Ministerial Social Policy Summit. This year’s theme: “Building Resilient Societies: Innovative Solutions for Demographic Change”.

The summit will bring together more than 20 high-level representatives, including ministers from EU Member States, officials from the European Commission, international organizations, leading experts, and policymakers. They will discuss the current demographic challenges facing most European countries.

russia’s full-scale aggression has significantly deepened Ukraine’s demographic crisis. According to the Institute for Demography and Life Quality of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as of 2024, Ukraine’s population is estimated at 31 million. Around 4.6 million are internally displaced, and another 5 million remain abroad. Declining birth rates, large-scale migration, and an aging population are challenges facing Ukraine and Europe as a whole. This international summit is intended to bring together countries searching for shared solutions.

The summit’s goal is to strengthen strategic partnerships between the social policy ministries of participating countries, enhance international cooperation in social policy, and continue the global dialogue on supporting Ukraine’s and Moldova’s integration into the European Union.

Registration for the event will remain open until 11 AM on May 21.

Background: The Summit is organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova, in co-organization with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Sweden and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, with the support of UNICEF in Ukraine.

• Lviv

This May and June, the Hospitallers medical battalion will conduct a series of tactical medicine courses for volunteer medics and civilians. The program features the NAEMT’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care – Combat Lifesaver (TCCC-CLS) course, along with trauma first aid, bleeding control, and simulation-based training. Courses will be held in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and throughout the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Journalists may attend and cover the sessions with prior approval.

For reference: Active on the front lines since 2014, the Hospitallers medical battalion carries out dozens of evacuations each day across nearly the entire combat zone. The team has been training others in tactical medicine since 2015 and in first aid since 2018. Instructors are certified by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy (UVMA), and other recognized institutions.

• doctors
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv

Veterans are invited to participate in a 3-day mountain hike in the Lviv oblast, on May 16-18.

The “Mountain Therapy” program combines the most effective healing methods and creates peer-to-peer support groups. The hikes are led by professional guides and psychologists. The program’s specialists have been working with military personnel and their families since 2014.

Journalists are welcome to cover the mountain therapy upon prior arrangement.

Background. The mountain therapy is organized by NGO “Metta”.

• culture
• psychological support
• Lviv

Marta Partem works in the IT sector. In the early days of the full-scale war, she and her colleagues organized the evacuation of refugees abroad, bought first-aid kits for soldiers, and later focused on the purchase of drones and electronic warfare systems. In total, the young woman has raised over three million hryvnia to support the Ukrainian defenders.

Through her volunteer work, Marta visited a military hospital in Lviv, where she learned that many soldiers did not have a vyshyvanka (traditional embroidered shirt). Together with her friend Oksana Brynzak, she decided to launch the “United by Vyshyvanka” initiative — a project for those who want to give embroidered shirts to soldiers as a token of gratitude for their service.

Marta shares that for many soldiers, these gifted vyshyvankas are the first they have ever received. She encourages those who wish to participate to send her their own or newly purchased embroidered shirts, which she will then deliver to the troops. The volunteer is also collecting donations to purchase vyshyvankas for the soldiers.

You can contact Marta Partem online or meet her offline in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• culture
• volunteers
• women
• Lviv

Nastia spent her childhood in three different orphanages. Each time, she had to adapt to a new environment, and say goodbye all over again. Today, she lives independently, works, and is preparing to join the Armed Forces ranks. She believes in herself, and in her future. Watch Nastia’s story.

Artem endured the loss of his family, years in institutional care, and forced displacement caused by the war. During the hardest moments, mentors stood by him, offering support and opening new opportunities. Now, he volunteers with 3D – Let’s Help Children, hoping to be that source of support for others. Watch Artem’s story.

Each year, thousands of children in Ukraine leave state institutions without basic life skills or support. The 3D project and DIyMO initiative call on society to ensure that every child or young adult has a dependable adult by their side.

A video project by the 3D – Let’s Help Children NGO, in partnership with the DIyMO Children and Youth Office, highlights how mentorship can redirect the life path of a young person without family support.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Nastia, Artem, and their mentors in Lviv or online.

• children
• Lviv