Given Putin’s horrific war on Ukraine, it would be remiss to write about anything else. And while I’m in no way qualified to offer any insights on foreign policy (despite, or perhaps because of having studied International Relations), I want to share some ways that individuals and businesses can help and are already helping.
The Government has put together a list. Top is donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal, which the Government will match pound-for-pound.
A new sponsorship scheme will also soon be launched so Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes have a route to safety. The scheme will match businesses (as well as people, charities and community groups) with Ukrainians who do not have family ties to the UK. Details of this will soon be published, which we will share through Twitter and in the next newsletter.
FT Sifted has also written some great articles on ways to help. Anisah Osman Britton (who runs our Inclusive Innovation Forum) has a piece on how to support Ukrainian tech workers. She suggests a lot, including hiring temporary talent to support displaced refugees – one option is Remote Ukraine – and following Daria Fedko’s Telegram Group.
Anisah also points readers in the direction of #TechForUkraine, which is designing digital solutions for non-profit organisations needing tech support. Companies with tech skills can sign up here. Along these lines, Ukraine Global Taskforce, launched by Google engineer Gustavo Iwanaga, has over 300 people in over 48 countries working on projects from managing the food supply chain to prepping first aid kits.
#SupportUkraine is a “bare-minimum guide for businesses around the world on how you can support Ukraine.” And Ukraine Tech Collective is matching international software developers with job vacancies left by Ukrainian software engineers called on to defend their country.
In addition, there’s an ever-growing list of companies that are cutting ties with Russia, including behemoths like BP, Shell, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. TechUK has put together a helpful article on what companies must do to comply with Russian sanctions. On this, Duncan Weldon has a summary of the economic sanctions on Russia, and Alan Cole makes a strong case for why the sanctions are working.
Do let me know if there is anything else you think I should share next week.
The Kids Aren't Alright
This week, Aria Babu was invited to appear before the Work and Pensions Select Committee to share her insights on Universal Credit and childcare (watch her here). Aria has shared her thoughts on our blog, criticising the broken system:
“The fact that childcare is so difficult to access is plausibly the greatest driver of gender-based inequality in the country. As low-income mothers struggle to care for their children and work, more children end up living in poverty. On top of that, locking women out of work holds back economic growth. And, to state what should be obvious, it isn’t fair that women should have fewer employment opportunities and less time to build their skills.”
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