Together for Ukraine: Country-Scale Response

What if the best way to support displaced people wasn’t charity in the traditional sense, but infrastructure that treats them as the capable professionals they already are?

Ihor was a marketing professional in Kyiv. Then came February 2022.

Like millions of Ukrainians, he found himself navigating a world that had shifted beneath his feet. He had skills. He had experience. What he didn’t have was a network in the countries where he might find work, or confidence that his English was strong enough for job interviews, or any sense of how European employers would view a CV formatted for a Ukrainian job market.

He wasn’t looking for sympathy. He was looking for a foothold.

Through Mentors for Ukraine, Ihor connected with a professional mentor who did something simple but profound: she treated him as a peer. Together, they conducted a SWOT analysis of his career. They rebuilt his LinkedIn profile. They practised interview scenarios. The mentor shared how recruiters actually think, which questions to expect, how to frame experience gained in a country now at war.

Ihor’s story isn’t unique. It’s one of more than 20,000 since February 2022.

The Insight That Changed Everything

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the humanitarian response was immediate and necessary: shelter, food, safety. But as weeks became months and months became years, a different question emerged.

What happens when people don’t need rescue anymore? What happens when what they need is a way forward?

The Educational Equality Institute’s answer was Together for Ukraine: not a single programme, but an interconnected ecosystem. Not aid, but infrastructure. Not something done to displaced Ukrainians, but something built with them and for them to use on their own terms.

The model rests on an observation that seems obvious once you see it: a professional rebuilding their career doesn’t need just one thing. They need a pathway.

Someone might first need to sharpen their English. Then they need technical skills that translate to remote or international work. Then they need someone who understands their target industry to review their CV and prepare them for interviews. Then they need connections to actual opportunities.

Each need is distinct. But they’re not separate. They flow into one another. And the infrastructure that serves them should work the same way.

Since 2022, Together for Ukraine has delivered:

• 8,000+ language learners practising conversation skills
• 2,000+ mentees connected with professional mentors
• 400+ mentors sharing expertise across eight career categories
• 50,000+ hours of digital skills training
• Participants across 50+ countries

These numbers represent something more than scale. They represent a different way of thinking about support itself.

Language: The First Door

For Viktoriia, the invasion shattered more than geography. It shattered confidence.

Finding herself in a new country, needing to communicate in English for everything from grocery shopping to job applications, she felt the gap between who she had been and who she could become.

Language Connect for Ukraine gave her a way across that gap.

The programme connects Ukrainians with volunteer conversation partners from around the world for live, 1-to-1 video sessions. Not formal lessons with grades and pressure, but genuine conversations. The kind where you can stumble over words and laugh about it. The kind where mistakes become learning instead of embarrassment.

The platform, powered by Kintell, lets learners browse volunteer profiles, book sessions that fit their schedule, and choose partners who speak the language they’re learning: English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, and more than a dozen others. Since 2022, more than 8,000 Ukrainians have used the platform to build fluency and confidence.

What keeps learners coming back, often for months or even years, is the quality of connection. Somewhere along the way, language partners stop feeling like tutors and start feeling like friends. That’s not an accident. It’s what happens when support is designed around human connection rather than transactional service delivery.

For those who want more structure, TEEI Language Courses offer small-group classes led by volunteer teachers, running two to three times weekly over several months. The courses use itslearning as a learning management system, with content from Babbel, Oxford University Press, and BOOKR Class for younger learners.

Many participants use both: structured courses to build foundations, conversation practice to build fluency. The programmes are designed to complement each other.

Practise a language with a Ukrainian learner →

Start learning (for Ukrainians) →

Skills: The Bridge to Opportunity

Language opens doors. But in a competitive global economy, technical skills determine what’s on the other side.

The Upskilling, Employment and Mentorship Programme has delivered more than 50,000 hours of digital skills training since 2022. The curriculum spans web development, software engineering, data science, machine learning, IT support, automation, AI, HR, marketing, project management, and business intelligence.

Courses are delivered through itslearning with content from DataCamp for data and analytics, Splunk for technology skills, and other partners. Teacher-led online sessions combine with self-paced learning and hands-on projects.

But here’s what makes the system work: upskilling doesn’t exist in isolation.

A participant learning data science can connect with a Student Mentor for accountability and study support. As they complete the curriculum and begin applying for jobs, they can transition to a Professional Mentor who helps them position their new skills for the market. The same platform that hosts their coursework connects them to career guidance.

This integration means people don’t fall through gaps between programmes. The infrastructure carries them forward.

Explore upskilling programmes →

Mentorship: The Human Element

Technology scales. Platforms scale. But some things only happen human to human.

Mentors for Ukraine connects Ukrainian professionals with experienced mentors across eight categories: Entrepreneurship, Tech and Digital, Marketing, Business and Management, Personal Development, Finance, Growth and Sales, and Design and Creativity.

The 400+ mentors on the platform bring expertise from companies and industries around the world. The 2,000+ mentees bring ambition, resilience, and skills forged in circumstances that would break many people.

What happens between them is more than knowledge transfer.

Penny has been mentoring through the platform since the early days. She keeps coming back because of what she receives, not just what she gives: the chance to meet remarkable people and help them see their own lives through fresh eyes.

The mentors share practical expertise too. Heidi helps mentees localise their CVs for different markets, explaining what UK employers expect versus US or European ones. Sanam, a recruiter, shares insider knowledge that changes how people approach job applications entirely.

Her advice: you don’t need to match 100% of a job posting’s requirements. 60-70% is enough. Apply anyway. Don’t self-reject before you’ve even tried.

This kind of guidance, specific and practical and grounded in how hiring actually works, can change someone’s entire job search. It’s knowledge that insiders take for granted but outsiders desperately need.

The platform handles scheduling, video calls, and impact tracking. Mentors can offer occasional sessions when they have time or build ongoing relationships with multiple mentees. The commitment is flexible. The impact is not.

Become a mentor →

Find a mentor (for Ukrainians) →

Entrepreneurship: Building, Not Just Rebuilding

Not everyone wants a job. Some people want to build something.

TEEI’s women’s entrepreneurship programmes provide a structured pathway from first idea through investment readiness. The multi-stage track moves participants through foundational entrepreneurship education, MVP development, startup acceleration, and leadership training.

Over months of structured learning, participants work through innovation methodology, market research, stakeholder engagement, legal considerations, funding strategies, business modelling, prototyping, marketing, sales, team building, and investor pitching.

Expert facilitators and corporate mentors guide each cohort. The programme culminates in investor engagement opportunities, including demo days where founders present to potential backers.

For Ukrainian women building businesses despite everything, this isn’t charity. It’s the same calibre of support that startup founders anywhere would seek. The difference is that it’s accessible.

Learn about women’s entrepreneurship →

Belonging: The Buddy Program

In Norway, where TEEI is headquartered, one programme takes a different approach entirely.

The Buddy Program for Ukraine doesn’t teach skills or provide career guidance. It provides friendship.

The programme matches Ukrainians living in Norway with local residents for regular social activities. Coffee. Walks. Exploring neighbourhoods. Attending cultural events. Cooking meals together. Learning about each other’s worlds.

Active in six Norwegian cities (Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand, and Drammen), the Buddy Program recognises something essential: integration isn’t just about language or employment. It’s about feeling like you belong somewhere.

For Ukrainians who’ve left behind not just homes but entire social networks, having one person who’s genuinely curious about their life and eager to share their own can change everything.

Become a buddy in Norway →

The Volunteers Who Make It Work

Behind every number is a human being giving their time.

Gideon volunteers as a language partner through Language Connect. For him, the most rewarding part isn’t teaching grammar or vocabulary. It’s watching confidence grow. Seeing someone who started hesitant become fluent in their ability to express themselves.

This is what the model depends on: hundreds of people around the world choosing to spend an hour here or there having conversations, reviewing CVs, sharing expertise. None of them are paid. All of them find the exchange worthwhile.

The requirements are low. Language partners don’t need teaching credentials. Mentors don’t need formal coaching certifications. What matters is experience worth sharing and willingness to share it.

How Companies Partner

For organisations seeking meaningful ways to engage employees and demonstrate commitment to social impact, Together for Ukraine offers ready infrastructure.

Skills-Based Volunteering

Employees can mentor Ukrainian professionals through Mentors for Ukraine, using their expertise in technology, business, marketing, finance, or other fields. The platform tracks hours and impact for CSR reporting. Employees develop coaching and cross-cultural communication skills. Ukrainian participants receive guidance from experienced professionals.

Workplace Giving

TEEI is listed on major workplace giving platforms including Benevity, GlobalGiving, Alaya, CyberGrants, and YourCause. Employees can donate through corporate portals and access matching gift opportunities.

Strategic Partnerships

Companies seeking deeper engagement can partner on curriculum development, programme sponsorship, or joint initiatives aligned with business priorities and ESG commitments.

The infrastructure already exists. Corporate partners plug into something proven rather than building from scratch.

Explore corporate partnership opportunities →

What Makes This Different

Traditional humanitarian response treats people as recipients. Together for Ukraine treats them as participants.

The distinction matters. When support is designed around capability rather than need, everything shifts. Ukrainians don’t queue for services. They browse platforms, book sessions, set their own schedules. They rate their experiences and leave reviews. They choose which programmes fit their goals and move between them as those goals evolve.

The infrastructure doesn’t ask people to be grateful. It asks them to show up and do the work.

This framing attracts a particular kind of volunteer too: people who want to engage as peers rather than saviours. Mentors who treat mentoring sessions as professional conversations between colleagues. Language partners who approach conversations as cultural exchange rather than charity.

The result is something that feels less like aid and more like access: access to the networks, knowledge, and opportunities that people with stable circumstances take for granted.

The Road From Here

Together for Ukraine began as an emergency response. Three years later, it has become something else: proof that scalable, dignified support infrastructure works.

The war continues. The need has not diminished. But what exists now is a model that can grow. A model that has already reached more than 20,000 people across 50+ countries. A model moving toward a goal of 100,000 Ukrainians served.

More importantly, it’s a model that could work beyond Ukraine. The platforms, the partnerships, the integration between programmes: none of it is specific to this crisis. It’s infrastructure for educational equality that happens to have been proven at scale through the Ukrainian response.

Ukraine is not the end of the story. Ukraine is the proof of concept.

For now, the work continues: more language partners connecting with learners, more mentors sharing expertise, more participants developing skills that translate to economic stability. Each conversation, each session, each course completed moves someone closer to a future they’re building themselves.

That’s what Together for Ukraine actually is. Not something TEEI does for people. Something people do for themselves, using infrastructure designed to make it possible.

Take Action Now

Volunteer Your Time

Language Partners (no credentials required) Help Ukrainians build English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, or other language skills through conversation practice. Join Language Connect →

Mentors (professionals in any field) Guide Ukrainian professionals through career transitions, job searches, and skill development. Join Mentors for Ukraine →

Buddies (Norway residents) Build genuine friendship with a Ukrainian newcomer in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Kristiansand, or Drammen. Join Buddy Program →

Teachers (educators and subject experts) Lead structured courses through TEEI’s education programmes. Explore teaching →

For Ukrainians

• Language Connect for Ukraine - 1-to-1 conversation practice
• Free Language Courses - Structured group learning
• Mentors for Ukraine - Professional career guidance
• Upskilling and Employment - Digital skills training
• Career Support - Job search resources
• Buddy Program - Social integration in Norway
• Women’s Entrepreneurship - Business development tracks
• All Programmes - Complete overview

For Companies

Employee Volunteering and Corporate Partnership →

Learn More

About Together for Ukraine →

Together for Ukraine is a programme of The Educational Equality Institute (TEEI), registered in Norway with US 501(c)(3) status. Since 2022, TEEI’s programmes have reached more than 20,000 Ukrainians across 50+ countries, delivering 50,000+ hours of digital skills training and connecting thousands with language practice and professional mentorship.