The State Polytechnic Museum named after Borys Paton at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute recently opened the photo exhibition Rights in Our Hands. The exhibition was inaugurated to mark Ukrainian Volunteer Day on March 14. The exhibition was organized by Amnesty International Ukraine in partnership with the State Polytechnic Museum named after Borys Paton at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and the University's Veteran Development Center. Notably, the Museum is the exhibition's second venue. It was first presented in Washington, D.C., in February this year.
The exhibition tells the story of human rights protection during the full-scale war and highlights the daily efforts of Ukrainians to defend their rights not merely through words, but through concrete actions. It features 12 black-and-white photographs accompanied by personal stories of volunteers, human rights defenders, activists, educators, and other committed individuals whose everyday work helps preserve human dignity and demonstrates that human rights exist not only on paper but also in practice.
"It is important for us to show how Ukrainians defend human rights every day—not in theory, but in the harsh reality of war. We often hear that human rights 'do not work' or 'exist only on paper.' Yet every day we witness people who, at the cost of their own time, health, and sometimes even their lives, fight to protect the rights to life, health, and dignity for hundreds and thousands of fellow Ukrainians," wrote Valeriia Burlakova, Head of Campaigns, Media, and Research at Amnesty International Ukraine, on the organization's official website.
Among the people featured in the exhibition are several prominent Ukrainians whose work exemplifies the protection of human rights in times of war. They include Yana Zinkevych, founder and commander of the Hospitallers Medical Battalion, a veteran with a disability who now serves as a Member of the Parliament of Ukraine and chairs the parliamentary commission on medical, psychological, and social support for veterans and military families. Her portrait is presented under the theme The Right to Health.
Another featured participant is Marta Levchenko, founder of the charitable initiative and Ukraine's largest crisis center, City of Goodness, which, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, has provided shelter for children evacuated from frontline and temporarily occupied territories, including children with disabilities. Her story represents The Right to Life. The exhibition also features veteran, lawyer, and human rights advocate Masi Nayyem, who works to protect the rights of wounded service members and veterans, under the theme The Right to Peaceful Assembly and Freedom of Association. Reuters war correspondent Ivan Liubysh-Kirdei, who was seriously injured during a Russian missile strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, represents Freedom of Expression. In addition, the exhibition includes eight more portraits and personal stories illustrating other fundamental human rights, including The Right to Identity and Culture, The Right to Adequate Food and Housing, The Right to Education, The Right to Dignity and Humane Treatment, The Right to Gender Equality, Freedom of Movement, The Right to Protest, and The Right to Family Life.
During the exhibition, the museum also hosted a meeting with one of its featured participants, Masi Nayyem.
According to Olha Zaichenko, Head of the Museum's Scientific and Educational Department, "A right exists only when it is not merely written in a document but is actually exercised. Exercising a right depends not on someone else, but on every person who values and defends that right. That is precisely what our exhibition is about—it shows how this happens in practice."
According to Amnesty International, Rights in Our Hands has also been released as a 2026 calendar, with each month dedicated to a different personal story and a different fundamental human right.
