On 11 June, Civitas University hosted a panel discussion on SIMPLE – Social Innovation Models to Promote Learning and Employability – as part of its 2026 Social Horizons Forum in Warsaw. Evelin Verhas represented HÉTFA Research Institute and joined the panel online as a speaker. The invited participants included experts from two SIMPLE project partners, Civitas University and IDP European Consultants, as well as Dr Olena Sukmanova, former Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, and Weronika Marczuk, President of the Society of Friends of Ukraine and Representative of the Ukrainian Ombudsman’s Office in Poland.
The two-day event, held for the first time under the motto “Where are we heading? Answers,” brought together more than 70 speakers and nearly 200 participants, both in person and online. The programme included six plenary sessions and 16 thematic panels. Representatives of academia, business, diplomacy, public administration and civil society discussed the developments shaping contemporary societies, politics, the economy and culture.
The SIMPLE panel focused on how public authorities, academia, business and civil society can work together more effectively to support refugees from Ukraine. Participants discussed how the different actors could define their roles and responsibilities more clearly, coordinate different forms of support and involve those directly affected from the outset in programme design. They emphasised that the knowledge and experience of refugees from Ukraine not only contribute to a better understanding of their actual needs, but can also serve as an important source of social innovation.
This cross-sectoral cooperation is also central to the SIMPLE project. HÉTFA is a partner in the project, which adapts proven social innovation models to local needs and tests them in practice. SIMPLE aims to support the labour-market integration and economic independence of refugees from Ukraine, particularly women.
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