Try to name the women who have contributed to the development of our country. Probably hard to do, especially if you didn’t flip through the pages of the two-volume «She Did It» and «She Did It, too.» This unique book has been prepared by over 200 authors and authors, illustrators, many of them are from Zhytomyr. But it is interesting, first of all, that it gives awareness of the role of women leaders, without whom the world would not develop so rapidly and not so powerfully

This Monday, an unprecedented exhibition of paintings opened at the Oleg Olzhich Regional Library – illustrations of the two-volume «She Did It» and «She Did It, too». The first guests and participants of the presentation were not only the author of the publisher, but women leaders from all over Zhytomyr. A bright and aesthetic edition is not just interesting in terms of visual decision. These books are a cultural and political event for Ukraine and the world.
Julia Stakhivska, poet, author of short stories, thinks that the book has a multinational meaning: «For example, the Ukrainian linguist Elena Kurilo was born in Belarus and the avi-designer Elizabeth Shahatuni is an Armenian. No discovery, work or invention has sex. But we still live in a world where the esteem of a respectable man gives weight to a woman’s accomplishments. Instead, we never talk about Clement Kvitka, a famous folklorist, researcher, exclusively as the husband of two women – Lesya Ukrainka and the already mentioned Elena Kurilo. Because, in principle, it is nonsense to characterize a person in this way».
Lilya Omelyanenko, co-founder of Publishing House, is convinced that the following leaders are needed to educate future leaders: «We are very pleased with this two-volume book, which is important for girls and women. To understand that there are examples in Ukrainian history to follow in any profession. Prior to this two-volume, very little was known about the impact of women in Ukrainian culture, politics, and in general in any other profession. It was important for us to show that such Ukrainian women are. And almost 70% of those mentioned in this opening are Ukrainians. Because even we, the founders of the idea, when starting to work on this book, on a two-volume book, frankly, could name up to ten names of those Ukrainian women who made their contribution to science and culture. And people who are not very interested in this and not very involved in research and livelihoods. When our girls at school say, «Why do you have to do this? You do not need it, you are a girl!»- singling out professions for girls some professions, for boys. For us, this is unacceptable, because every person, regardless of gender, has to choose his or her dream and to decide for himself / herself what he / she wants to pursue in life. Another important difference of this book is that it is the largest Ukrainian cultural product by number of authors, as well as by the number of Ukrainian women included in it since Ukraine’s independence. We are very pleased that now there is a result that little by little everyone will know. And most importantly – learn more about prominent Ukrainian women. And it is very important for us».
Among the guests of the exhibition were many women-deputies who combined their core work, family responsibilities and parliamentary powers. After the presentation, they will hand over copies of their cities library book, talking about the support women leaders need.
Yulia Takhtarova, Coordinator of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Women Leader project, told why it is extremely important to support such projects. «These two books were supported by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Government of Sweden. This is important to us because it is about role models, about women leaders in different spheres – politics, economics, and the arts. These are more than a hundred Ukrainian women who have made a significant contribution to the development of various fields not only for Ukraine but for the whole world. At the National Democratic Institute, since 2010, there is a Women Leadership Program, where we promote women’s political participation and talk about women’s leadership. For us, this project is a landmark project because it is in line with our values and helps us to speak about women’s leadership in a creative, non-standard way», Yulia shared.
Leonid Zakalyuzhny, Candidate of Philology, Children’s Writer and Father, considers it important not only to make a social contribution but also to make a personal contribution: «I am one of the co-authors of the second volume «She did it too»- wrote a text about Natalia Borusivna Chmutina, a famous Ukrainian architect. For me, this book is important for a wide audience, not just for boys or girls. I also have a personal interest here, as I have a six-year-old daughter who wants to become an architect. She draws daily with scissors, pencils, felt-tip pens, and paper. Therefore, this text is not only for everyone, but also for it. My son is four years old, but this is just the age when boys need to be aware that girls have the same equal rights and opportunities. In addition, the main character herself is surprisingly interesting. I had a choice – chose from several dozen heroines and settled on Natalia Chmutina. It seems to me that this is a woman who has always harbored pain, given her personal destiny, very difficult, but has never demonstrated it. She was burning at work. The final wording did not include much information: the untimely death of the man, the fact that she had to spend the last money in a taxi when she traveled to the construction sites that were embodied in her drawings. The unique story is that for 65 years she was actually the curator of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine building. Natalia Chmutina is involved in her project, structure, reconstruction. From 1936 to 2001, she directly participated in and directed most of the works, and we will not find any such similar example in the history of world architecture. I think that every city has such heroines, both modern and history characters. And they deserve to get on the pages of such a book, so maybe a third volume will be possible».
View the exhibition of two-volume illustrations «She did it» and «She did it too» by anyone until December 14, 2019 at the Zhytomyr Regional Library named after Oleh Olzhych (4, Novyi Boulevard). The event was initiated by the Creative Innovation Institute NGO under the project «Promoting Equality Against Discrimination» with the support of Sweden and «Promoting Women’s Political Participation in Ukraine» with the support of the UK Government.