About the Speaker
Svitlana
Zalishcuk
Ukrainian politician and human rights activist
Svitlana Zalishchuk is a Ukrainian politician, journalist, and human rights activist. Zalishchuk played a key role in the Euromaidan movement by founding Centre UA, an organization that defends freedom of expression and information. Zalishchuk has led successful awareness-raising initiatives, including “Stop Censorship,” a campaign to promote free speech. In 2014, Zalishchuk was elected as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Zalishchuk is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights and gender equality, as well as democratization and anti-corruption in Ukraine. For her human rights work, Zalishchuk has been consistently recognized by Novoe Vriemia magazine as one of the top 100 most influential women in Ukraine and was granted the 2016 Anna Lindh Prize.