Meet our speaker - Olena Apchel

Olena Apchel

Olena Apchel

Olena Apchel

Dzień 2
Moderated discussion
Kobiety na wojnie
12:50 - 13:15

BIO

Activist, researcher, performer, director, doctor of philosophy and art sciences, volunteer, cultural curator and ambassador of Ukraine, soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine, volunteer. She took an active part in the Revolution of Dignity – in Kyiv and Kharkiv’s Maidan. In 2021 she headed the social programs department at Warsaw’s Nowy Teatr, and was active in the Ukrainian volunteer community in Poland.

In the fall of 2022, she moved to Berlin, where she worked as co-director of Theatertreffen, the largest theater festival in the German-speaking area.

Winner of the readers’ poll of the “Portraits of Sisterhood” award Sestry.eu 2025 Warsaw for rescuing people and helping during the war, contribution to Polish-Ukrainian dialogue and development of sisterhood – women’s solidarity, mutual support and alliance in the struggle for humanistic, democratic values and a better future.

She is one of the recipients of UP.100 Women’s Strength 2025 – an award in the name of women who defend Ukraine on the front lines under conditions of full-scale war, transform difficult circumstances into opportunities for business and the social sector, develop Ukrainian culture, sports, science and creative industries, and bring significant change to Ukraine. She joined the Ukrainian Defense Forces as a volunteer in May 2024.