Online portal 'Stand With Ukraine' launches in Czechia

The Česko.Digital project, representing a collective of volunteers from the Czech professional IT community, has launched a new website that streamlines crucial information for Ukrainian refugees and their local supporters all in one place.

The website www.stojimezaukrajinou.cz (Stand With Ukraine) launched on Sunday in response to the flood of offers and interest in providing assistance to citizens of Ukraine. Under the guidance of the Česko.Digital initiative, the site was designed, translated, and launched in one weekend.

The platform offers both "How to Help" and "Looking for Help" categories, the latter of which is translated into Ukrainian. Organizers say the aim of the projects is to avoid fragmentation of information and duplication of work.

"Every time a similar thing happens, there are a lot of organizations and people who want to help. They wait for a while to see if something happens, and when nothing happens, they start doing it themselves. That's why they happen to work on the same things in parallel. The benefit of the Česko.Digital community is that it offers experts from several fields and different organizations a neutral ground where they can join forces and help effectively, ” says volunteer Jiří Sekera, one of the lead project coordinators.

For those who want to provide help, the "How to Help" section lists opportunities for lending financial and legal aid, accommodation, ongoing collections, etc. A spokesperson from Česko.Digital says users will find verified links to organizations offering targeted help.

The "We Stand With Ukraine" platform is linked to civic associations that have mobilized in support of Ukraine in the past weeks such as the Million Moments for Democracy movement, etc. (České Priority, Společně to dáme, and Solidpixels).

The site will also feature an updated overview of protests and other events important taking place throughout the Czech Republic. While the Stand With Ukraine site is aimed at organizations and institutions, a second platform www.pomahejukrajine.cz connecting individuals who need help with people offering help and vice versa, is being further developed.

Česko.Digital's community of 4,000 tech-expert volunteers was founded in May 2019 and does pro bono work for government and non-profit organizations. It previously launched projects such as www.ucimeonline.cz , www.damerousky.cz, and www.safezona.cz .

By Saturday evening, a total of CZK 100 million had been donated to various efforts supporting Ukraine through the Darujme platform.

"The wave of solidarity with Ukraine does not recede [...] Like after the tornado in Moravia, we see that in critical moments, Czechs are able to stick together and help others selflessly," said Darujme in a press statement.

An estimated 70,000-80,000 people gathered in Prague's Wenceslas Square Sunday at a protest rally held by the Million Moments for Democracy to support Ukraine.