Our team consists of specialists in various fields: project management, fundraising, communications, logistics, community mobilization. We know about human rights and gender equality, engage in human rights and educational activities, oppose discrimination, work with public opinion for freedom and equality.
We:
- conduct educational events and information campaigns in the field of human rights and gender equality;
- unite the LGBTQ+ community, the women’s community;
- organize public actions in Kharkiv;
- help women and LGBTQ+ people during war.
We are known for such projects as:
“KHARKIV PRIDE” is the largest LGBT event in the east of Ukraine, which is traditionally held in September. The goal of KharkivPride is to increase the visibility of LGBT+, people’s awareness of the inaccessible rights of LGBT+ and their further obtaining through changes in laws. The main slogans of Kharkiv Pride change every year in accordance with the chosen main theme.
“WOMEN’S SOLIDARITY WEEKS” is an annual social and educational project that has been implemented in Kharkiv for six years. Its purpose is to highlight the issue of gender inequality in Ukraine, dispel stereotypes about the feminist movement, gender discourse and the traditions of the March 8 celebration, and support the development of the women’s movement for their rights and freedoms. At the beginning of the project, events took place during the first week of March. With its development, events began to be held throughout March, which contributed to the change of name to “Women’s Solidarity Week” in 2020. As part of the Weeks of Women’s Solidarity, various educational events are held – lectures, discussions, excursions, tattoo marathons, film screenings, etc. All of them are aimed at a wide audience – both active participants in the feminist movement and those who are just interested in this topic. The central event of the WSW is the March of Women’s Solidarity, a peaceful human rights march on March 8. Every year, the organizers choose a key theme that unites all events and is the slogan of the entire project.
PRIDEHUB is a public center for the LGBT+ and friendly community in Kharkiv, which existed for 4 years. It is a place for communication and self-organization of the community. At the initiative of the community and its active support, PrideHub held a number of events:
- lectures and discussions;
- evenings of games and acquaintances;
- speaking clubs;
- psychological mutual assistance groups;
- rehearsals of the LGBT+ choir;
- movie screenings and many others.
Over 1,000 events have been held in the space during its existence!
Also, the hub gathered around it an active volunteer community – during its existence, about 70 volunteers started their activist journey within its walls.
As a result of the full-scale invasion, many people left Kharkiv, and we were forced to close the only community center in the city. During the bombing of Kharkiv, 2 shells landed within a radius of 100m from the public center: many nearby buildings were damaged and destroyed. The danger of repeated shelling of this place remains. Due to the lack of ownership of the premises, we could not fully provide the necessary security for visitors, as well as equip the community center according to the needs of the community. Neighbors have repeatedly expressed homophobia in public about the LGBTQ+ community and visitors to the center, destroyed the “Mural of Equality” on the walls of Pridehub and painted over a rainbow at the entrance to the center. Now, due to the decrease of shellings LGBTQ+ people return home, along with this many LGBTQ+ IDPs move to the city from more dangerous regions of Ukraine. They all need a place where they can meet their basic needs for safety, support and acceptance, receive humanitarian and psychological assistance and socialize with like-minded people.
In addition to services under the main tags, the organization provides: Heaters, blankets, clothes to LGBT+ people from the east of Ukraine who continue to stay in the territory of Kharkiv region. Priority will be given to those who lead their own households, still remain in Kharkiv region or are single people who take care of children/elderly people.
Website: sphere.org.ua