On 27 May 2026, Marco Toson, President of HOPE Ukraine Foundation ETS, took part in the Forum “World Ukrainians 2026: From Solidarity to Joint Action”, held at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kyiv. The forum brought together representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora, government officials, and international partners from across the world to discuss cooperation between Ukraine and Ukrainians abroad in support of the country’s resilience and recovery.
During a session dedicated to diaspora engagement and international cooperation, Marco Toson presented the EU-funded SIMPLE project and HOPE Ukraine’s work supporting Ukrainian refugee women in Italy. He shared the current state of the project’s Italian pilot, illustrating how a diaspora-led organisation abroad can translate solidarity into practical, structured support for employability and integration.
Speaking to an international audience of diaspora representatives from across the world, Marco Toson reaffirmed his belief in the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people, describing the global Ukrainian diaspora as a driving force and a source of strength for Ukraine’s future — both during the war and in the country’s long-term recovery.
The forum, organised by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the support of the “Shaping Development-Oriented Migration” (MEG) programme implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), gathered diaspora representatives, business leaders and officials from countries including Japan, Cyprus, Tanzania, Estonia, Albania, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Armenia, among others. Discussions covered global trends affecting Ukraine, the role of Ukrainian women in international investment and Ukraine’s global image, and successful models of cooperation between Ukraine and its diaspora.
HOPE Ukraine’s participation placed the Italian pilot of the SIMPLE project within this wider international conversation, showing how EU-funded social innovation initiatives implemented by diaspora organisations abroad directly contribute to the goals the forum set out to advance.
SIMPLE (Social Innovation Models to Promote Learning and Employability) is a project co-funded by the European Union under the ESF Social Innovation+ initiative (project reference ESF-SI-2024-UA-01-0028), bringing together eight partner organisations from Poland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Croatia. The project designs, pilots and scales innovative models to strengthen the employability and integration of Ukrainian refugees across Europe. In Italy, HOPE Ukraine Foundation ETS leads the pilot supporting Ukrainian refugee women through tailored empowerment, entrepreneurship, and stakeholder-engagement activities.
Co-funded by the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.