Kyiv, 10 December 2019 – Today on the Human Rights Day a photo exhibition “Just Like You” was opened in Kyiv. It tells the stories of 10 Ukrainians, who didn’t step away seeing human rights violations.

The heroes of the photo exhibition are human rights defenders who are focusing on such topics as gender equality, palliative care, human rights during the conflict, inclusivity, human rights in places of detention, rights of the LGBTQI, and Roma representatives.

The heroes of the exhibition are:

• Zola Kondur, a human rights activist, Vice-President of the Chiricli Roma Women Foundation; since 2018, she has worked for the Council of Europe, UNDP Tolerance Envoy
• Olesia Lytvynova, volunteer, founder of Frolivska 9/11 – the center to help the IDPs, Chair of Board of “Svoi” (Own People) charitable foundation; promotes palliative care.
• Larysa Denysenko, Human rights activist, lawyer, writer, UNDP Tolerance Envoy
• Anastasia Eva Domani, Member of TransCoalition, activist, trans woman
• Vitalii Pcholkin, the CEO of the Active Rehabilitation Group NGO, a member of the Kyiv Rugby Wheelchair Team, and founder of the Invafishka and Paralichnenko projects.
• Yevhen Vasiliyev, a project coordinator at CSO Vostok SOS, promotes human rights in conflict, and rights of IDPs.
• Olesya Yaskevich founder of the NGO “See with the Heart.” The NGO runs projects such as Space Camp, an inclusive art center and a creative workshop for young people with complex disabilities.
• Olha Makar, a member of the “Youth for Peace”, advocates the rights of homeless people,
• Alla Lepekha, regional coordinator of the Ombudsperson Office in Chernihiv.
• Davyd Bohar, head of the charity fund “Roma People of Vynohradovshchyna

“The Human Rights Progress Study on what Ukrainians know and think about human rights conducted in 2018 showed that Ukrainians remain passive when it comes to defending their rights – less than a half of respondents who admitted that their rights or the rights of their relatives had been violated tried to defend them. The photo exhibition covers the stories of human rights defenders who work on national and Oblast levels and is aimed at raising interest in human rights among Ukrainians,” underlined Svitlana Kolyshko, Human Rights Team Lead, Human Rights for Ukraine Project coordinator, UNDP Ukraine.

“Before this project we usually filmed people who faced injustice, needed help or defend. This time we were covering the other side of human rights defense – people who usually stay behind the scene though doing very important work. That was an absolutely different and lifechanging experience,” commented Kseniya Kravtsova, photographer, director of the Real Stories Production.

“We collected 10 stories and every time we went to a new place. It was amazing to watch how these people interact with others:  how they help, consult, joke… How they react to every impulse of the external world. We have been to a Roma holiday, visited children inclusive school, volunteered giving food to homeless people, visited a sewing factory at the women prison, and many other places – we did it to better understand and show the atmosphere,” told Vladyslav Nechyporenko, photographer, videographer at Real Stories Production.

In terms of the photo project, the heroes shared their stories how they became human rights defenders and why they stand up for the rights of others.

“At first, we opened a simple “hotline” for people from the East. We have just moved to Kyiv, bought some sim-cards, and posted on social media that we are providing help with relocation from the conflict area. People from Lviv, Ternopil, Kharkiv were calling us saying that they can host some people from Non-Government Controlled Areas. Also, people from Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts were calling for help with relocation. We worked ad hoc – depending from requests, which were different every time, At first people addressed us for help with finding apartment, safe relocation, and then they started to call us for legal aid,” shared his story Yevhen Vasylyev, CSO “Vostok-SOS”.

“There are a lot of places of detention in Ukraine. Usually, people get there by the decision of state bodies and can’t leave them when they want. They are not only prisons or pre-trial detention center, as people usually think. They are migrants accommodation centers, psychiatric care hospitals, geriatric hospitals,” told Alla Lepekha, regional coordinator of the Ombudsperson Office in Chernihiv

“My work is to go there and to check the living conditions there, and whether the rights of these people are not violated. It is so painful to see the fear in their eyes – people there are afraid to tell anything, they hide or simply don’t talk. When they finally start trusting you some facts pop up. It wouldn’t be possible to find out about these facts simply by monitoring the premises. That is why monitoring visits for me are not just inspection visits. First of all, for me, monitoring visits are about listening to people,” she stressed.

“To live actively, you really have to want to. You have to make an effort, be aware of your rights and stand up for them. People with spinal injuries all over the world can drive cars safely, with special equipment that compensates for dysfunctional fingers. But in Ukraine, the law on driving has not changed since 1975. For three years, I was defending my right to drive a car, and eventually I received a driver’s license for a car with manual controls. But my case is an exception, and we’re now working to address this issue at legislative level,” underlined Vitalii Pcholkin, an entrepreneur, athlete, activist, and director of the Active Rehabilitation Group.

“I saw compelling stories of how people stood up for their own rights and the rights of others at “Just Like You” photo exhibition. It’s vital to raise awareness about human rights, and encourage people to stand up for them and speak up, since silence kills,” said Dafina Gercheva, UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine.

The photo exhibition “Just Like You” is a joined initiative of the Real Stories Production and the Human Rights for Ukraine project, implemented by the UNDP in Ukraine with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Media inquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Communications Specialist, yuliia.samus@undp.org, +38 097 139 14 75