Representatives of the European Union, Ukraine and Czechia, international organisations, and the Ukrainian diaspora gathered to celebrate the Ukrainian Consultation and Community Centre in Prague formally joining the Unity Hub Network, with its growing reach and scope of work for Ukrainians. The event included the official signing of a cooperation agreement to extend the U-CARE project, which ICMPD implements.
The gathering on 11 September 2026 marked the first year since the Ukrainian Consultation and Community Centre (UCCC) in Prague opened and formally joined the wider Unity Hub Network for Ukrainians across Europe. Over the past year, the Centre has developed from a consultation service into a broader community platform; providing guidance on temporary protection, legal stay, documentation, consular preparedness, access to services, voluntary return and reintegration. It also creates a space for Ukrainian organisations and initiatives to connect and collaborate. The UCCC thus meets the parameters of the Unity Hub in the Unity Hub Network, also follows the Council Recommendation of September 2025 on a coordinated approach to the transition out of temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine where Unity Hubs are points of contact for Ukrainians living in EU Member States, including for information on legal-status options as well as voluntary return programmes.
Kateřina Fleigová Vronská, Director for International and European Cooperation Department at the Czech Ministry of the Interior, emphasised: “We believe the Centre will continue to provide all the essential information, services and support to the newcomers; but also to those that are here for a while. We believe this model is viable and transferable to many countries where the Ukrainian diaspora has found its new home.”
“It is my pleasure that we have come to a moment where we can actually, officially, on behalf of the Ministry and ICMPD, also sign an agreement today that we will grant further funding to the Unity Hub. The Hub is to provide the connection, to provide opportunities for Ukrainian citizens, and also vice versa, to build more bridges for the Czech people,” Director Vronská said.
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Social Policy, Family, and Unity Ilona Havronska, in her opening remarks, underlined that “today, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians live in Czechia. Many of them work, study and raise their children here. For Ukraine, it is important that, regardless of where a person lives today or what plans they have for the future, they can maintain a connection with Ukraine. The Unity Hub in Prague should become another such point of connection — a place where people can find the information, connect with the Ukrainian community, learn about opportunities in Ukraine, and simply feel closer to home.”
Ylva Johansson, EU Special Envoy for Ukrainians in the EU, also said: “Of course, Ukrainians need protection. But at the same time, they have tremendous energy, countless ideas, creativity and the potential to shape and create the future. This is the direction we need to move in: we need to create more opportunities for Ukrainians to influence their own future and our shared future, as well as the future of Ukraine and its recovery. The Unity Center in Prague, as well as the entire Unity Network, has a very important role to play in this.”
Sedef Dearing, ICMPD Deputy Director General and Migration Dialogues and Cooperation Director, also highlighted partnerships and shared responsibility in the Centre’s development. “ICMPD is not there to replicate or substitute the efforts of governments. We are there to serve governments and ultimately the migrants. We work within existing structures, strengthen government structures, and support any enhancement we can deliver. That’s why we’re also doing this here. The philosophy behind these centres is to build bridges, to work together, and to build partnerships — not to create parallel structures or parallel entities, but to join hands and do this together.”
The UCCC was established with the support of the Czech Ministry of the Interior through the U-CARE project and in close cooperation with Ukrainian authorities. ICMPD has been implementing the project since September 2025, building on its earlier support to Czech and Ukrainian institutions in establishing a Ukrainian Consultation Centre in Prague in 2023.
Since the launch of the Centre in 2023, more than 11,000 Ukrainians have benefited from its services, including more than 4,500 during the past year alone. But, as ICMPD Regional Portfolio Manager Violeta Wagner noted, “the significance of the Centre cannot be captured by numbers alone, but the most important achievement cannot be measured in numbers. It is trust.”
The Centre has built trust among Ukrainians seeking reliable information and support, [Ukrainian] community organisations, and Czech, Ukrainian and international partners. Its work has increasingly focused not only on immediate assistance, but also longer-term integration, return and reintegration, and contributing to the country’s future recovery. The formal integration of the UCCC into the Unity Hub Network therefore marks both a recognition of what has been achieved in Prague and the beginning of a new chapter.
“It’s very important for us to maintain this connection with our people, to build this joint life, to help Czech people to know more about Ukraine and to know about opportunities in Ukraine. Because this friendship will continue, and we believe that such a project as a Unity Hub will benefit not only Ukrainians but also our partner countries,” Deputy Minister Havronska also said.
“This Unity Hub in Prague, our Unity Hub in Berlin, in Stockholm, this is a very crucial part of all the Unity Network we build and all infrastructure we build to maintain these ties with Ukrainians and prepare a voluntary return,” Ms Havronska added.
“We’re all trying to look for still some hope for the future, some ways to work together, some beauty in the midst of tragedy. And, as I’ve said, I hope that we can make a small contribution,” Ms Dearing concluded.
Background
ICMPD also expressed its gratitude to the Czech Ministry of the Interior for its continued support through the U-CARE project, as well as to the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, the Agency of National Unity of Ukraine and all partners who have contributed to the Centre’s development. The forthcoming second phase of U-CARE is expected to build on the progress achieved so far and extend the initiative’s reach and impact.
In her opening remarks, Violeta Wagner stated the important role of the Unity Hub as it continues building a strong bridge between Ukrainians in Czechia, Europe and Ukraine.