Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, human rights defender, Nobel laureate, and graduate of the kmbs MBA program, has received the European Order of Merit — a new distinction of the European Parliament established in 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to European integration, the protection of democracy, human dignity, and the rule of law.

Among the first honorees from Ukraine is also President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who received the order in the highest category.

During the award ceremony, Oleksandra Matviichuk spoke about the values that today define Europe’s future:

“Europe is less about geography and more about values. Europe must defend freedom and democracy, because only the willingness to protect our values defines a society that has a future.”

The Center for Civil Liberties, led by Oleksandra, has become one of the key Ukrainian voices in the global conversation about human rights, accountability, and justice during the full-scale war. The organization documents war crimes, works with international institutions, and shapes the international agenda around Russia’s responsibility for crimes against Ukraine.

For the kmbs community, this is also an opportunity to speak about responsibility — which begins with personal conviction and over time becomes part of transformative change on a much larger scale. We congratulate Oleksandra Matviichuk on this recognition — an acknowledgment of the power of a voice that today speaks on behalf of Ukraine in the global dialogue on freedom, dignity, and human rights.