On June 9, the all-Ukrainian forum "Zoo-Conscious" will be held for the second time in Kyiv at the UNIT.City Innovation Park—an annual platform for identifying and developing sustainable solutions in the field of animal welfare.
The event will bring together about 300 participants from across Ukraine—representatives of animal welfare initiatives, the public sector, business, culture, government institutions, and international partners. The key topics of this year’s forum will include: adoption, the development of animal evacuation standards, government policies on animal protection, the experience of regional shelters during wartime, the role of business and CSR, as well as the public influence of opinion leaders and the media in shaping new norms of behavior.

Among the speakers at the event:
- Olha Matsko – Head of Strategic Initiatives at UAnimals;
- Lala Tarapakina – Founder of the charitable foundation “12 Guardians”;
- Olha Spektor – Founder of the Happy Paw Foundation;
- Yuliia Ovchynnikova – Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Co-chair of the cross-factional parliamentary group “Humane Country”;
- Dmytro Zeziulin – Frontman of the band LATEXFAUNA;
- Ihor Donských – Influencer, public figure, and pet parent;
- Alina Smyshliak-Boroda – Director of Reputation Management and CSR at Kormotech.
Additionally, a special online appearance will be made by Kirsti Ronkainen, Academy Programme Lead. She represents Battersea – the royal shelter founded in 1860, considered one of the most renowned animal rescue centers in the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, as part of the event, Olena Holub, media analyst at the Institute of Mass Information, will present the IMI recommendations for proper coverage of animal protection topics in the media.

The initiators of the event are animal rights advocates Olena Machynska, co-founder of NGO URSA, and Iryna Lozova, Head of Social Projects at U-Hearts.
General Partner – Kormotech.
Partners – UNIT.City, Volvo, Morshynska, UGEARS.
Media Partners – TyKyiv, Hromadske Radio, Rubryka.
Participation in the event is free upon prior registration.