Sofiia Zaitseva

I am a 17-years old girl from Donetsk, the east part of Ukraine committed to international relations, social justice and youth-led civic engagement. While actively volunteering, I became a co-founder of many different charity fairs and events in our city. As a school Vice President I raised around 850,000 UAH in support of the Ukrainian armed forces, organised large-scale charity events, and built sustainable environmental campaigns with like-minded people from my school. Together we also created a project “Enemies Are Covered" - an environmental-social initiative where we collected plastic caps and supplies for the military popularise it through our social media and inviting everyone to join our charity event. With this project, my team has collected over 200 kilograms of plastic waste and provided crucial support to Ukrainian defenders. As a future of Ukraine, I also have a great academic passion that lies in understanding global governance, public diplomacy and resistance movements. Because of the desire to popularise a topic, I conducted a research project that explores how Western music influenced protest sentiment in the Ukrainian SSR. For me it was important to demonstrate my findings and help people to understand the importance of history and music. Even in the most difficult times, Ukrainians did their own thing and became recognisable throughout the world. As a participant of Brave Generation, I had an opportunity to collaborate with youth leaders worldwide, building cross-cultural connections and begin to believe in myself. My main plan is to study International Relations and Political Science in college. One day then, I will become a diplomat or international policy leader.I am especially driven by the desire to represent Ukraine on the global stage and contribute to our future. I wan to do everything that will help my country be greater than even.