The first cohort of the Create Ukraine programme has completed its 14-month work at the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. Ten participants, who returned to Ukraine from the United Kingdom, China, France, Austria, Canada, Italy, and Slovakia, became part of key national economic projects, investment agreements, and Ukraine’s movement toward the EU. On 11 December, they presented the results of their work.

Create Ukraine is based on the successful Lithuanian model Create Lithuania programme — it has been implemented in Ukraine since 2024 on the initiative of Lithuania, the EU, and the Government of Ukraine. The pilot project was co-financed by the European Union under the EU4Youth Programme and the Government of Lithuania, managed by the Central Project Management Agency, and implemented by the KSE Foundation.

Over the past year, ten young Ukrainian professionals implemented dozens of projects across key areas: investment, SME development, labour market, EU integration, scaling public-sector initiatives, and transparent communications.

Tetyana Berezhna, Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy of Ukraine – Minister of Culture of Ukraine: “A year ago, we launched Create Ukraine. The goal was simple: to bring Ukrainians with international experience back home — and most importantly, to give them the opportunity to work within state institutions and help transform Ukraine. All ten participants have shown incredible progress and results. The projects they worked on are already strengthening and transforming our country. I want to thank everyone who made Create Ukraine possible: our Lithuanian partners for their support, our colleagues in the Government, and of course, the participants themselves. I look forward to the second year of the programme”.

Darius Skusevičius, Ambassador-at-Large for the Coordination of Ukraine’s Recovery and Reconstruction, MFA Lithuania: “Lithuania launched this programme with a clear belief: Ukraine’s renewal will be shaped by its people — especially the young, talented professionals returning from around the world to build the future. These are the architects of tomorrow’s Ukraine, and this year’s Create Ukraine cohort proved just how much their expertise matters. Ten people, one year — and we already see stronger institutions, meaningful reforms, and steady progress toward the EU. Their impact shows why Create Ukraine must continue and expand”.

Oleksii Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine: "Our Ministry had the privilege of being the first to open its doors to 10 young professionals with international experience — the participants of Create Ukraine. Each of them contributed in an exceptional way and created a systemic effect. They strengthened the Ministry exactly where it was most needed: they improved internal processes, helped us work faster and more cohesively during a challenging year for the country. And this demonstrates a new model of public service — when young Ukrainians with international experience deliberately choose to return home, join public institutions, and raise the standards of governance even under the pressure of war”.

First Create Ukraine graduates: Anastasiia Bilanenko, Olena Dziubko, Iryna Volokha, Oksana Havryliv, Tetiana Haidym, Stanislava Kruhlian, Yuliia Mishchuk, Yuliya Paska, Roksolana Smerechynska.

Impact: what changed thanks to Create Ukraine participants

The impact of their work is visible both inside public institutions and internationally. 

Svitlana Denysenko, Director of KSE Foundation: "Since 2014, Ukraine has defined its strategic direction — EU membership and a European future for our children. The country is paying an extraordinarily high price for this choice. To move forward, we need experienced professionals who gained invaluable knowledge abroad and are ready to apply it at home. That is why Create Ukraine is strategically important. More than 30 projects — from reform support to investment negotiations and reconstruction initiatives — were made possible thanks to young Ukrainians, the first participants of Create Ukraine, who deliberately returned from abroad in the midst of the war”.

Through the work of government teams supported by Create Ukraine participants, the following results were achieved:

Attracting new investments: Participants worked on negotiations for the creation of the US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. URC2025, coordinated by Create Ukraine participants, gathered over 6,000 participants from 60 countries and facilitated more than 200 agreements worth $15 billion. An Investment & Business Engagement Ecosystem was initiated and launched, 13 workshops for foreign businesses were conducted, reaching over 500 companies and mobilising more than 100 investment projects. Ukrainian initiatives were integrated into major international events, including ReBuild and the World Economic Forum.

Strengthening Ukraine’s international image: National communication campaigns and participation in key global events — from the Ukraine–Japan Forum with 29 signed agreements to Expo 2025 with a total outreach of 38 million people — made government policies more understandable to broader audiences. A unified English-language voice of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine was established, and the Economic Intelligence Digest for diplomats and investors was launched, increasing awareness of Ukraine’s priorities.

Accelerating EU integration: Participants completed the final stage of screening for five chapters of Ukrainian legislation and prepared the basis for adopting the updated Labour Code, which should be aligned with EU, ILO, World Bank, and Council of Europe standards. They contributed to developing Ukraine’s Export Strategy 2025–2030, which supported tariff reductions, quota expansion for agricultural products, and improved the government’s methodology for assessing the impact of aligning national legislation with the EU acquis.

Labour market and SME development: Participants contributed to supporting around 290,000 SMEs, creating more than 330,000 new jobs, and retraining over 270,000 people.

At URC2025, they coordinated the labour market panel, which resulted in Ukraine’s associated membership in ESF+ with access to EUR 760 million and EUR 33 million in additional agreements. Memorandums were signed with Italy, Lithuania, Belgium, and the UAE.

Supporting sustainable development and business: The “Green Platform” was launched, uniting more than 100 funding programmes for businesses, communities, and startups.

Mechanisms for war-risk insurance for Ukrainian companies were developed, improving transparency of investment instruments and attracting international partners. A business component was integrated into government visits to Sweden, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands through the engagement of around 50 Ukrainian companies from key economic sectors.

Learn more about Create Ukraine’s pilot participants and the impact of their projects:

https://foundation.kse.ua/en/create-ukraine/?utm_source=release_en_results 

The first Create Ukraine cycle proved the effectiveness of bringing back Ukrainians with international experience. Their knowledge and skills translate into measurable, concrete impact on Ukraine’s economy, institutions, and international standing — and future cohorts will continue this path, expanding the scale and depth of change.

Create Ukraine was launched in 2024 as a pilot initiative to engage Ukrainians with international experience in the public sector. The pilot phase of Create Ukraine is co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Lithuania within the framework of the EU4Youth program, aimed at supporting young people. The program is implemented by the Central Project Management Agency in partnership with the KSE Foundation, and the Ministry of economy, environment, and agriculture of Ukraine, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and in close cooperation with the Government of Ukraine.

Create Ukraine will scale up: in January 2026, 25 young professionals will return from abroad and join seven key ministries and public institutions.