Open World Alumni Recognized in 30 Under 30 Award

Open World Alumni Recognized in 30 Under 30 Award

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Open World Leadership Center, an agency of the U.S. Congress, is pleased to announce the success of its Ukrainian program alumni in KyivPost’s 30 Under 30 Award, an annual prize that celebrates young Ukrainian leaders.  The winners are young Ukrainians who have achieved outstanding results in different fields, including teachers, scientists, human rights activists, politicians, start-up founders, and show business stars. KyivPost’s 30 Under 30 Award recognized the following four Open World program alumni:

  • - Valeriya Yehoshyna, Investigative Journalist: she used to dream of becoming a spy; instead, she now works as an investigative journalist who exposes spies for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Schemes investigative show. She has published numerous investigations exposing large-scale corruption in Ukraine. (hosted in November 2019, Kansas City, MO)
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  • - Lesia Ivanova, Independent Journalist: An investigative journalist with Bihus.Info, she has broken important stories about corruption in Ukraine’s defense sector. She is the author of the bombshell investigations that implicated the son of a top defense official in a corruption scandal. (hosted in November 2019, Louisville, KY)
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  • - Nataliia Sosnytska, Coordinator at Druzi creative free space: her dream was to give a second life to her hometown of Kostiantynivka, in Donetsk Oblast. She started by opening a creative space in Kostiantynivka where she holds events aimed at reviving the city (hosted in March 2018, Birmingham, AL)
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  • - Maksym Studilko, Entrepreneur: When he was only 15, he co-founded Spring of Hope, a human rights organization, in his hometown of Vinnytsia. For a decade, it has helped migrants and victims of human trafficking, and in 2014, became one of the first organizations to assist with those displaced from Crimea and the conflict-torn regions in eastern Ukraine. In 2018, they opened a domestic violence shelter. He now works to strengthen civil society in Ukraine. (hosted in March 2016, Birmingham, AL)

OpenWorld’s 20th Year

Founded in 1999 by Congress, the Open World Leadership Center maintains a vast network of more than 29,000 alumni in strategic countries including Russia, Ukraine, and others in the Balkans, Caucuses, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The Center supports legislative diplomacy efforts for Members of Congress by conducting exchanges that establish lasting professional relationships between emerging leaders and their U.S. counterparts. Program participants are provided with extensive exposure to American politics, accountable governance, and citizen diplomacy, while being home hosted by American families. To learn more about the Open World program, please visit www.openworld.gov/

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