2023 Outstanding Peace Activist

Dr. Mariia Levchenko is an inspiring peace worker engaged in Ukraine and globally. She is part of the first and largest peacebuilding initiative in Ukraine since the war began: Peace Support Ukraine. In her work, she educates youth, refugees, and women on themes of “Dialogue and Peacebuilding,” “Emotional Wellbeing and Dealing with Trauma,” and “Fighting Propaganda, Disinformation, and Extremism.” She also implements social and emotional learning in education. Her specific expertise revolves around dialogue programs, facilitation, raising awareness, conflict resolution, and trauma healing.

Mariia is a McCain Global Fellow 2022 and Peacebuilding Officer at the Romanian Peace Institute (PATRIR). She provides consultations for United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and Berghof Foundation on the topic of national dialogue, and its perspectives in a post-war context. Before the war in Ukraine, she worked as a Dialogue Facilitation Officer at OSCE and as European Director of Outreach and Training at the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding.

According to her,  “In a world divided by differences, peace is nurtured through the power of dialogue and the art of listening. When we open our hearts and minds to truly hear one another, bridges are built, and peace becomes not just a distant dream, but a tangible reality.”