How can communities help Ukrainian women access the information, services and support they need to build their lives in a new country?
KMOP explored this question through the SWEETIE project, sharing its experience from Greece at the project’s Final European Event in Naples on 17 September 2026. The event, “Empowering Communities from Within: The SWEETIE Project and Tools for Multicultural Support,” brought together Ukrainian peer mentors, community leaders and organisations from Greece, Italy and Poland to reflect on the approaches developed through the project and their potential for continued use.
Building support through peer mentoring
Since September 2025, KMOP has implemented a community-based support pathway for Ukrainian women in Greece through its Friendly Space for Women & Girls. Weekly activities combined rights-based information, service orientation and peer mentoring, helping participants navigate welfare, employment and administrative services while strengthening connections within their community.
Two Ukrainian peer mentors and community leaders, Alina Malynovska and Alisa Zolotniuk, played a central role in this process. They supported women in understanding their rights, accessing services and sharing practical knowledge and experiences with others.
In total, 78 Ukrainian women received support through KMOP’s activities, gaining access to information, orientation and opportunities to discuss challenges affecting their everyday lives. The exchange of experiences and practical guidance helped turn individual knowledge into a shared community resource.
From identifying barriers to developing solutions
SWEETIE also provided an opportunity to examine how Ukrainian women experience public and social services in practice. KMOP engaged public, private and civil society organisations, including the Job Centre of the Municipality of Athens, GSEVEE, and KO.DEP as well as key local CSOs like METAdrasi, Ithaca Laundry.
Discussions focused on access to rights and integration services, labour-market inclusion and protection from exploitation, municipal social services, professional integration and entrepreneurship. Bringing these different perspectives together supported dialogue on how services can become more culturally and gender-sensitive and better respond to the realities faced by migrant and refugee women.
Sharing lessons for stronger communities
The Final European Event in Naples gave Ukrainian peer mentors and community leaders from Greece, Italy and Poland the opportunity to share their hands-on experiences, challenges and recommendations for sustaining the work beyond the project.
Participants also explored practical tools for multicultural communication, presented by an intercultural mediator from the Polish Migration Forum. The exchange highlighted how peer-led approaches can complement formal services by creating trusted channels for information, connection and mutual support.
The SWEETIE experience shows that social inclusion is not only about connecting people with existing services. It is also about strengthening the networks and community resources that help people navigate everyday challenges and support one another.
Through SWEETIE, KMOP contributed to strengthening community-based support for Ukrainian women in Greece, while sharing lessons and practices that can inform more inclusive approaches to social inclusion across Europe.
For further information, contact us at [email protected]