Professional Integration HUB

We are pleased to share this conversation featuring Olga Olefirova, Co-Founder of The European Centre for Freedom and Independence and Program Manager of the Professional Integration HUB.

This interview reflects not only individual leadership, but also the broader vision behind our work — strengthening human capital, building institutional bridges, and ensuring that Ukrainian expertise continues to contribute meaningfully in Europe.

At HUB, we believe that professional integration is not only about employment. It is about dignity, long-term impact, and shared responsibility for Ukraine’s future and a stable Europe.

We invite you to explore the full interview below ⬇️

Behind the HUB | OLGA OLEFIROVA

Today, we conclude Behind the HUB, our interview series featuring the program organisers shaping the initiative.

🗣️ In this final conversation, we speak with Olga Olefirova, Co-Founder of the European Centre for Freedom and Independence and Program Manager of the Professional Integration HUB.

Drawing on over 20 years of experience in reforms, institutional development, and European integration, Olga reflects on what enables systemic change — and what holds it back. She speaks about working for Ukraine while living abroad, preserving human capital during wartime, and translating long-term expertise into practical action.

🖇️ Key insights from the interview:

STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO NEW REALITIES

• I came to Austria to study, but for many years, I remained actively engaged in Ukraine professionally. Everything changed with the start of the full-scale invasion. Today, although I am rarely in Ukraine physically, all my projects remain closely connected to it.
• Maintaining a strong link with Ukraine and contributing to its future is extremely important to me. I don’t exclude the possibility of returning after the war and playing an active role in its recovery.
• Once the situation had somewhat stabilized, the question arose: how could I continue helping Ukraine from where I am now?

AUSTRIAN PARTNERSHIPS & PERCEPTION SHIFT

• We have been extremely impressed by the openness of Austrian institutions and organizations.
• Participants not only learned but also actively shared their professional experience, which proved extremely valuable to their Austrian colleagues.
• The presence of Ukrainians in EU countries has had a positive impact on our country — they have become the voice of Ukraine abroad and its representatives in the realm of soft diplomacy.

NEXT PHASE OF THE HUB

• We see the future of the HUB not just as a set of targeted initiatives, but as a sustainable system capable of influencing the broader integration of Ukrainians into the EU.

🔗 Read the full interview on the website. Link in comments.

We opened a new season for YOU!Community on 4 February with a visit to the United Nations in Vienna, bringing together YOU!Community and the VIC Ukrainian Club and setting the tone for a year of meaningful connection and collaboration.

The meeting created space for open exchange in a warm, informal setting focused on professional integration and cultural diplomacy.

The discussion featured Ms Solomiya Omelyan, President of the VIC Ukrainian Club, alongside EUCFI Co-Founders Olga Olefirova and Olena Bekreniova (Олена Бекреньова), who introduced their organisation and Professional Integration HUB community. The event was moderated by Liudmyla Sirychenko.

Participants shared their professional journeys, exchanged ideas, and explored potential paths for future cooperation. The conversation also touched on the importance of mutual support, the challenges of starting over in a new country, stereotypes surrounding Ukrainian professionals abroad, and the responsibility of representing Ukraine with dignity in international environments.

These reflections directly connect to the mission of EUCFI and the Professional Integration HUB: strengthening professional confidence, challenging limiting narratives, and supporting Ukrainian specialists in building meaningful careers while contributing positively to the societies they are part of at every level.

We sincerely thank the VIC Ukrainian Club and Ms Solomiya Omelian personally for the invitation and constructive exchange.
We also thank the YOU!Community members for their active participation and openness!

More to come! 💙💛

Behind the HUB is an interview series that brings forward the vision and reflections of those who shaped the Professional Integration HUB from the very beginning.

The series features the program organisers, Ukrainian women professionals whose work has contributed to civic processes in Ukraine. Alongside our participants, they have also experienced integration firsthand and share insights shaped by leadership, responsibility, and lived experience.

We continue the series with Olena Bekreniova, Co-founder of the European Centre for Freedom and Independence and Project Manager of the Professional Integration HUB.

In the interview, Olena reflects on building the Centre from scratch, navigating relocation, and turning uncertainty into structured action. She speaks about professional dignity, trust-based partnerships, and the creation of spaces where Ukrainian women can reconnect with their professional identity, build networks, and regain confidence.

She also shares how the Professional Integration HUB emerged as a response to a real need, how the program evolved over three rounds, and why investing in people and communities remains at the core of the Centre’s work.

Read the full story:

https://www.professionalhub.at/olena-bekreniova-the-hub-shows-how-investing-in-human-capital-strengthens-austria-europe-and-ukraine-at-the-same-time/

Behind the HUB | OLENA BEKRENIOVA

Behind the HUB is an interview series highlighting the voices behind the Professional Integration HUB — program organisers whose integration journeys run alongside those of our participants.

In this edition, we speak with Olena Bekreniova (Олена Бекреньова), Co-Founder of the European Centre for Freedom and Independence.

Olena reflects on building the Centre from scratch, turning uncertainty into action, and creating spaces where Ukrainian women can reconnect with their professional identity, build networks, and regain confidence. She also shares how the Professional Integration HUB emerged in response to real challenges and evolved over three editions.

🖇️ Key insights from the interview:

CENTRE

• Organizations are best built on trust, consistency, and values rather than on formal structures alone.
• Managing complex programs, cooperating with international partners, and investing in people reinforced my belief that real impact is always systemic and long-term.
• We overcame all difficulties through discipline, flexibility, and, above all, human trust. Partners who were willing to try, participants who believed in us, and a team that worked beyond its limits.

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATION HUB

• Integration cannot be built on downgrading people, but on recognising, translating, and activating their experience.
• HUB became more than an internship program — it became a space for rebuilding confidence and reconnecting with one’s professional identity.
• We understood that what was at stake was not only employment, but the preservation and development of human capital — both for Ukraine and for Europe.
• HUB shows how investing in human capital strengthens Austria, Europe, and Ukraine at the same time.

INTEGRATION

• At some point I realised: if the environment is entirely new and unknown, then I must create my own meaningful place within it.
• Integration is always mutual: when you are seen, and when you genuinely see others.
• The turning point came when I stopped perceiving my current life as ‘temporary.’

🔗 Read the full interview on the website. Link in comments.

Behind the HUB | Yana Barinova

This time, we share the vision and reflections of those who shaped the Professional Integration HUB from the very beginning.

This interview series features the program organisers. Alongside our participants, they have also experienced integration firsthand and share reflections shaped by responsibility and experience.

The series opens with Dr. Yana Barinova, Program Director Ukraine at ERSTE Foundation.

In the interview, Yana speaks about integration as a quiet internal shift and the ability to live and act in the present. She reflects on how philanthropy has changed after 2022, why investing in people creates long-term stability, and the HUB’s evolution from emergency response to strategy.

🖇️ Key takeaways:

INTEGRATION

• You are integrated when you stop living in a temporary scenario and start living your life in the present moment.
• For me, mental adaptation began when I stopped comparing everything to ‚how it used to be‘.
• What helped me was understanding that I wasn’t starting from zero as a person, only geographically.
• Integration should expand your identity, not replace it.

PHILANTHROPY

• Today, effective philanthropy must be strategic.
• Humanitarian aid alone cannot address long-term recovery. Ukraine needs institutional development, expertise, and sustainable investment in people and communities.
• Professional integration creates long-term stability. When people gain skills, networks, and access to the labor market, they adapt and contribute.

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATION HUB

• The program initiated a broader public conversation about integration as a long-term investment.
• The next phase must reflect the transition from emergency response to strategy. Ukrainians in Europe are doing more than adapting; they are co-creating.
• Ukraine is no longer viewed solely through the lens of conflict or humanitarian need. European institutions are increasingly recognizing Ukrainian expertise, creativity, policymaking capacity, and leadership potential.

🔗 Read the full interview on the website. Link in comments.

A reading list for saving. 📌

The beginning of a new year invites reflection and intention. We think about journeys to take, projects to launch, professional goals to pursue and books that feel right for this moment.

For this reading list, alumni of the Professional Integration HUB 3.0 shared books that were truly meaningful to them. These are titles that shaped their perspectives, influenced their priorities and became texts they return to over time.

From philosophy and fiction to history and memoirs, this selection reflects the diversity of experiences, questions and reflections that accompany personal and professional growth.

📚 Book recommendations from HUB 3.0 alumni:
• Anastasiia Yevstratenko, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
• Solomiia Beska, The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy
• Iuliia Pushko, Drei Kameraden by Erich Maria Remarque
• Alina Stozhok, Ask Miechka by Yevheniia Kuznietsova
• Valeriia Nepeina, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• Anastasiia Klysakova, Walk Through Walls by Marina Abramović
• Anna Gaidai, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Nataliia Weinwurm, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
• Diana Liutianska, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo with a special focus on Fantine’s story
• Nadiia Chervinska, I and Thou by Martin Buber

Feel free to save this list and share the books that shaped your own journey! ⬇️

📊 We asked the HUB 3.0 fellows to assess their own level of integration in Austria and reflect on why they feel this way today.

In this carousel, you see their self ratings.
In the full interviews on our website, the reflection goes further.

The fellows speak about how participation in the HUB shaped their professional integration, strengthened their sense of belonging and influenced the way they navigate work, networks and contribution in Austria.

These interviews offer a deeper look at integration as a lived experience shaped by the program, professional context and individual paths.

👀 Read the full interviews on our website.
🔗 Link in comments.

📸 Valerie Loudon

💬 «The Professional Integration HUB program is in my heart.»

These words by Ambassador Elisabeth Kornfeind opened the Final Conference of the Professional Integration HUB 3.0 and set the tone for a day filled with reflection, gratitude and inspiration.

It was a deeply emotional and proud moment for all of us when we concluded the third edition of the HUB in Vienna. Together with our organising team, hosting partners and the fellows, we reflected on the results of all three editions of the program. Looking back, we see a story of growth, resilience and real impact.

🪄 The atmosphere of the conference was filled with inspiring speeches, warm reflections and recognition of the achievements made throughout 2023 to 2025. The certificate ceremony became a symbolic moment that closed one chapter and opened another as the HUB prepares for its transformation in 2026.

Ambassador Elisabeth Kornfeind opened the event with a keynote that deeply resonated with the audience. Her words about the strength, dignity and resilience of Ukrainian women reminded us why supporting their professional paths in Austria matters both today and for the future recovery of Ukraine.

The conference continued with welcome remarks by Olena Bekrenova Олена Бекреньова and Olga Olefirova, Co-Founders of The European Centre for Freedom and Independence. Their message highlighted the power of community and the importance of professional integration.

A heartfelt reflection came from Elisabeth Burgis, Head of People and Culture at Österreich Werbung. Her personal story about following her professional calling inspired many and created an emotional connection that made the moment truly special.

Together we celebrated three generations of the HUB:

• 609 applications
• 43 alumni
• 27 hosting institutions
• 45% employment success rate
• 32 weeks of German classes
• 20 study visits
• 20+ professional development and community building events

And most importantly, the courage, dedication and growth of every participant.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed their reflections during the conference, including Falko LOHER, Felicitas Metz, Ewa Niewiara, Bernd Stadlbauer, Yvonne Reif, Gerhard Volz, and Tatjana Német. Their warm feedback highlighted how meaningful the fellows’ presence was within their teams and how valuable this experience became for both sides.

Our sincere gratitude goes to ERSTE Foundation for initiating and funding the program and to Yana Barinova for her continuous support and commitment to creating opportunities for Ukrainian professionals in Austria.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this journey.
We now look forward to the next chapter!

🔗 More highlights and photos are available on our website. The link is in the comments.