Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, millions of people have been forced to leave their country in search of safety elsewhere. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 5.7 million Ukrainian refugees are now living outside Ukraine, with 90% residing in various European countries. Alongside the immediate response to the humanitarian emergency, the need to build lasting pathways to inclusion— capable of supporting autonomy, participation and professional integration within host communities — continues to emerge strongly.
It is within this context that SHE-UNET has been developed, an initiative promoting the professional and personal empowerment of Ukrainian women through training programmes dedicated to leadership and labour market inclusion. Through activities carried out across the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy, tools and methodologies are shared that are geared towards developing the skills needed to navigate the path to professional integration within various European contexts.
On 21 and 22 April 2026, professionals working in the fields of training and migration met in Palermo for a new stage of the training programme, dedicated to the Empowerment Skills Framework, a methodology designed to strengthen skills related to employment, independence and social participation.
Over the course of the two days, around twenty participants worked collaboratively to develop training tools and practices designed to encourage the active involvement of migrant women in workplace integration programmes.
Through participatory activities and collaborative workshops, participants were able to develop the soft and emotional skills essential for training and inclusion programmes, experimenting with approaches focused on leadership and the development of their own abilities. To facilitate the continuity of the work across the different regions involved, educational materials and tools were also shared to enable the replication of these activities in local contexts.
In the coming weeks – in the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden – the professionals involved will continue to organise national workshops with the aim of engaging an ever-increasing number of Ukrainian women in programmes to strengthen their skills, leadership and employability. In Italy, the activities planned in Palermo and Milan will be facilitated in collaboration with the Penc Centre, which will help to share methodologies and practices developed during the training activities.
For more information, please visit the website: https://she-unet.eu/
SHE-UNET – Ukrainian Women’s Empowerment and Social Hub Network is financed by European Social Fund+ Social Innovation+, Initiative aiming at mitigating the societal consequences caused by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Partners
- Coordinator: Stichting Netwerkpro, Netherlands
- Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci – ETS, Italy
- Vallentuna Kommun, Sweden
For further information write to giulia.dannibale@danilodolci.org.