At URC 2026, the Olena Zelenska Foundation presented comprehensive solutions for supporting Ukrainian children and expanded international partnerships

At the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk, Poland, the Olena Zelenska Foundation presented comprehensive solutions for supporting Ukrainian children, hosted an international workshop titled “Safe Schools: Comprehensive Solutions for Ukraine’s Children,” and officially secured a new stage of cooperation with the Minderoo Foundation, which will provide $500,000 to develop the “Safe School” project.

This marks the second time the Olena Zelenska Foundation has participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference. This year, the team presented the results of its work across three core pillars: supporting family-based care, ensuring access to education and development, and providing psychosocial support for children and youth.

Special focus this year was placed on the “Safe School” project — a comprehensive model that combines the creation of modern shelters, the modernization of food facilities, and energy resilience solutions for educational institutions.

Comprehensive Solutions for Safe Education

As part of the conference, the Olena Zelenska Foundation hosted an international workshop, “Safe Schools: Comprehensive Solutions for Ukraine’s Children,” dedicated to creating a safe educational environment amid the full-scale war.

The panel discussion brought together Yevhen Kudriavets, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Mariia Karchevych, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine; Ivan Fedorov, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration; Orest Stepaniak, Head of the School Nutrition Reform Team; Oksana Zbitnieva, Head of the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Mental Health National Program “How Are You?”; and Viktoriia Romanova, Director General of the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

Opening the workshop with a video address, the First Lady of Ukraine and founder of the Foundation, Olena Zelenska, emphasized:

“Children are learning right now. Their childhood is happening right now, and it must be protected immediately. That is why we cannot wait for the war to end to create safe learning conditions. We must do it today.”

During the discussion, the participants addressed the challenges currently facing the Ukrainian educational system, the impact of war on children’s physical and mental health, and the comprehensive solutions that enable access to safe offline learning even under constant threats.

“We cannot put our children’s lives on pause until the war ends. It is our duty to create conditions today where they can grow, learn, and build the future of Ukraine. After all, a state's true resilience begins with its people. That is why in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region, we continue to invest in education, children's development, and opportunities for every Ukrainian family,” noted Ivan Fedorov, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration.

A dedicated segment of the workshop focused on the comprehensive “Safe School” model implemented by the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

“A safe educational environment is a combination of physical infrastructure and support for children's emotional well-being. That is why we look at a shelter not just as an engineering structure, but as a space where a child should feel safe, calm, and confident, even in times of war,” stated Viktoriia Romanova, Director General of the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

She emphasized that today, the “Safe School” project spans not only equipping modern shelters but also modernizing food facilities, ensuring energy independence for educational institutions, and creating a barrier-free and psychologically comfortable educational environment.

To date, the Foundation has fully equipped 31 shelters in schools and kindergartens across Ukraine. Thanks to this, over 14,000 children have been able to return to safe offline schooling. Currently, more than 30 additional projects aimed at creating a safe educational environment are underway, which will enable thousands more children to study in safer conditions.

A New Stage of International Partnership

During the Ukraine Recovery Conference, the Olena Zelenska Foundation and the Minderoo Foundation officially formalized a new phase of cooperation within the “Safe School” project. The Minderoo Foundation will allocate $500,000 to modernize school shelters and strengthen energy resilience in educational institutions across Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Poltava regions.

As a result, more than 4,000 children in frontline communities will be able to continue their education in safer environments.

This is a continuation of a partnership that has already delivered impactful results. In 2023, with the support of the Minderoo Foundation, three houses were built under the “Room for Childhood” project for large foster families who lost their homes due to the war.

“The future of Ukraine is not war; it is prosperity and hope. And that future begins in the classroom. Safe schools are an investment in Ukraine’s long-term recovery and prosperity,” said Dr. Andrew Forrest, founder of the Minderoo Foundation.

Today, the Olena Zelenska Foundation operates exclusively through the support of international partners. Throughout its journey, it has succeeded in uniting more than 100 partners from over 35 countries around a shared goal — supporting Ukrainian children.