In the fifth edition of the annual Top 30 Under 30 awards, the Kyiv Post celebrated the young Ukrainian achievers of 2020.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions on mass gatherings, the newspaper handed out awards during a small ceremony in its headquarters with no audience, while streaming it live.
The Kyiv Post established the award in 2016 to recognize outstanding Ukrainian leaders under 30 who serve as engines of progress in different fields and push the country closer to a better future. They are civic activists, war veterans, entrepreneurs, artists and athletes. With the newest winners, the Kyiv Post’s Top 30 Under 30 alumni club has grown to 150 people.
This year’s list was selected by the Kyiv Post’s staff and former winners of the prize. The nominees were proposed by the public in an open call.
The 2020 winners are Olympic medalists, techies behind some of Ukraine’s internationally renowned apps, pioneering teachers, dedicated human rights advocates and outstanding artists.
“We know from past experience that the previous winners are contributing a lot to the betterment of Ukraine and we expect this year’s crop of winners to be no different,” said Kyiv Post Chief Editor Brian Bonner, who co-hosted the ceremony.
Check the full list of the 2020 Top 30 Under 30 winners here.
The award was sponsored by the International Renaissance Foundation.
The organization’s executive director, Oleksandr Sushko, congratulated the winners at the beginning of the ceremony, saying that it’s a pleasure for the foundation to join a project “with a remarkable reputation.”
Sushko said that many winners of the previous years continue to make an impact on Ukraine after receiving the award, and that was the reason the organization decided to support it.
“That is a signal that the prize was given to the right winners,” Sushko said. “I’m sure those 30 that will be disclosed today, they will be another portion of those who will make Ukraine better this year, next year and many years ahead.”
One of the first winners to accept the award was Liliya Borovets, a lawyer and co-founder of Pro.Svit, a nonprofit that helps innovate Ukraine’s education system through training teachers and schools.
Borovets said that, as the U.S. marked Thanksgiving just a day ago, “it’s a good reminder for us to be grateful and to appreciate each other and recognize that even the smallest efforts bring changes.”
Kyiv Post Chief Editor Brian Bonner presents the Top 30 Under 30 award to winner Olena Herasymyuk, a poet and former military medic. Herasymyuk spent five years documenting the stories of Ukrainians who perished in Soviet gulags. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
The award celebrated Ukraine’s brave and hard-working civic sector through personalities like Halyna Chyzhyk. A lawyer who works at the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Chyzhyk combats corruption in Ukraine’s judicial system. She says it’s an honor for her to join the community of ambitious and talented Ukrainians.
She believes the award is a recognition of the titanic efforts of her and her colleagues, who aim to ensure fair justice in Ukraine.
“A zero-corruption judiciary became my mission, so thank you for this inspiration to move forward to achieve this very ambitious goal,” she said.
This year’s award recognized a number of rising artists behind Ukraine’s thriving music and cinematic scenes. One of them is director Antonio Lukić, who made an outstandingly successful feature film debut with “My Thoughts Are Silent.” A profitable comedy that is loved by both the general public and sophisticated audience, the film stood out with relatable humor.
In line with the genre he proved to be good at, Lukić couldn’t resist but make a joke upon accepting the prize.
“It was my dream since childhood. As a child, I read the Kyiv Post and dreamed about this,” Lukić, 28, joked about the five-year-old award.
Kyiv Post Commercial Director Alyona Nevmerzhytska presents the Top 30 Under 30 award to winner Andrii Prykhodchenko, A creative director and co-founder at Reprezent, Prykhodchenko created an app to connect doctors and volunteers who could provide them with a lift to hospitals during a strict COVID-19 lockdown that shut down public transport. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
The 2020 list features six successful entrepreneurs. One of them is Valeriya Guzema, the 29-year-old founder of Guzema Fine Jewelry, one of the best-known jewelry brands in Ukraine and a holder of two Elle Style Awards.
Guzema said that the award is a great honor for her. A major supporter of charities and mentor for aspiring female entrepreneurs in Ukraine, she says she is proud of the country’s young and talented people.
“The young generation is so strong and so powerful,” Guzema said. “I believe that in the next 10 years, such people will create a huge strong powerful country.”
Aside from the International Renaissance Foundation, Top 30 Under 30 partnered with UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund). The organization gave additional prizes to four winners under 27.
UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Lotta Sylwander said at the ceremony that it’s important to celebrate the achievements of young people, who make up about a quarter of the world’s population.
“They need to be encouraged, they need to know they are seen and heard,” she said.
Although young people are not at as great of a risk from COVID-19, in many ways, they are affected by it more than others, Sylwander said, because it’s difficult for them to see the future ahead. So it’s even more important to encourage youth today.
“Each action and each step is essential in the fight of COVID, and your participation is more important than ever,” she said.
This is the fifth time the Kyiv Post has given out the Top 30 Under 30 awards. Here’s who won before: in 2019, in 2018, in 2017, and in 2016.
