Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative, Commercial Law and Financial-Economic Security at the Educational and Research Institute of Law of Sumy State University, Liudmyla Rudenko, took part in an international workshop held in April 2025 in the cities of Lund (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark). The event focused on legal aid for Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), using a human rights-based approach. During the three-day intensive workshop, the participant became acquainted with EU countries’ practices for supporting displaced persons, particularly methods of trauma-informed counseling, mechanisms for protecting refugee rights, and providing legal aid and psychological support.
Special attention was given to the intersectional approach, understanding how multiple forms of discrimination can simultaneously affect a person. Liudmyla Rudenko also studied the experience of Danish organizations such as the Danish Refugee Council, DIGNITY, and ActionAid, which are actively working with Ukrainian refugees. A particularly meaningful part of the visit was to the Ukrainian House in Denmark, where she presented a piece of cultural heritage from the Sumy region by gifting a traditional motanka doll.
Participation in the workshop enabled the associate professor to shape a vision for the further development of legal clinics in Ukraine during wartime, to develop new approaches to client counseling, and to explore opportunities for potential international cooperation. The event was organized within the framework of a project implemented by the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine in cooperation with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) and the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation, with the support of the Swedish Institute.
