Photo exhibition about women in Ukrainian diplomacy opened at Kyiv National University

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day in Diplomacy, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv opened a photo-documentary exhibition ‘FIRST. Women in Ukrainian Diplomacy: from symbolic figures to modern ambassadors’. The exhibition tells the story of Ukrainian women who shaped the diplomatic image of the state – from Anna Yaroslavna to the current ambassadors of independent Ukraine.

The opening ceremony brought together the ambassadors of Croatia, Argentina, Montenegro, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, academics and students. The Consul General of Ukraine in Hamburg and researchers of diplomacy joined the event online. The author of the project, Iryna Matiash, spoke about the history of the exhibition and shared her plans for the third edition.

Iryna Matiash

An important event was the transfer of two new publications to the M. Maksymovych Scientific Library: “The Female Face of Ukrainian Diplomacy. Essays, Memoirs, Interviews‘ (2024) and ’Woman in Diplomacy. Time of War” (2025). The gift was presented by Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Professor Kseniia Smyrnova. Director Maryna Zhechenko, who also attended the event, expressed gratitude on behalf of the library.

Ksenia Smirnova, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of KNU, and Maryna Zhenchenko, Director of the Maksymovych Scientific Library
"The Female Face of Ukrainian Diplomacy. Essays, Memoirs, Interviews‘ (2024) and ’Woman in Diplomacy. Time of War" (2025)
“Femininity in diplomacy is not about diplomatic “weapons”, but about the ability to bring the values of humanity, openness and strength of spirit to the world,” said Ksenia Smyrnova.


The exhibition was not only an artistic event, but also an important tool of educational diplomacy, emphasising the role of women in shaping Ukraine’s international image, both in the past and today, during the war.

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