KYIV - SoftServe, a leading Ukrainian IT company, Lviv, and UNICEF have signed a strategic partnership agreement on youth education and development. The parties plan to cooperate in the framework of educational programs and initiatives in Ukraine, to exchange knowledge and professional experience.

"Education in Ukraine needs a lot of focus and support - both at the state and business levels. For SoftServe, improving education, especially in IT, is one of the key areas of social responsibility. We systematically implement educational initiatives for young people, have partnership cooperation with universities in different parts of Ukraine to enable positive changes.

At the same time, partnering with UNICEF is an opportunity to integrate and implement even more comprehensive state-level educational solutions," said Taras Vervega, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of SoftServe, Chairman of the Corporate Charity Fund "Open Eyes". [Taras Vervega represents SoftServe on the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), www.USUBC.com Board of Directors.]

SoftServe, with extensive experience in software development, will assist in the conceptual and technical implementation of a number of UNICEF educational projects in Ukraine. The partners intend to collaborate not only on software development, but also to share experience and competencies, and engage SoftServe associates to participate in UNICEF initiatives as volunteers.

Last September, partners jointly organized a hackathon to find technological solutions to the most pressing problems of children and youth in Lviv. At the end of 2019, 11 mentors from leading Ukrainian companies were trained by UNICEF at the SoftSefve office in Kyiv,three among them were SoftServe volunteers who became mentors for UPSHIFT Ukraine global initiative teams.

SOFTSERVE & UNICEF

At the end of March 2020, a team of SoftServe volunteers began working with representatives of UNICEF and the Public Health Center (Ministry of Health of Ukraine) to streamline the collection and processing of primary data from regional epidemiology laboratories. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ukraine, such efficient use of data will help to provide statistics faster, to build analytical charts and to respond to the needs in those locations that most need it.

"It is crucial for UNICEF to have partners that are interested to co-create and work jointly on innovative solutions. We are pleased that SoftServe is ready to support our cooperation in addressing the most pressing issues amid these challenging times of the pandemic.

By uniting our expertise and resources, we can create better opportunities for children and young people in Ukraine," said Lotta Sylwander, UNICEF Ukraine Representative

ABOUT: SoftServe is a leading Ukrainian IT company working in the field of software development and consulting services. SoftServe is one of the largest software development companies in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the three largest IT companies in Ukraine. More than 8000 associates work in the European and American offices of the company located in 12 countries.

The company's headquarters are located in Lviv and Austin (Texas, USA). The company's development centers are located in Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Sofia (Bulgaria) and Wroclaw, Bialystok, Gliwice, Warsaw (Poland).

LINK:  https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en/press-releases/softserve-and-unicef-ukraine-have-signed-strategic-partnership-agreement

USUBC NOTE:  SoftServe is a long-time member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Wash, D.C., www.USUBC.org