Polina Onyshchenko is a student at the Ukrainian Catholic University, majoring in Philology. Through academic exchange, she studied twice at the University of Tübingen, participating in courses focused on freedom of expression and intercultural understanding, as well as at the University of Jena, where she concentrated on researching lexical changes in the Ukrainian language using methods of corpus linguistics and artificial intelligence. She is also a participant in the Erasmus+ program at Viadrina University. Actively involved in extracurricular activities, Polina engages in volunteer projects and leadership initiatives. She collaborates with the international youth organization VidNova and serves as an ambassador for a project aimed at supporting Ukraine. Throughout her volunteer work, she has participated in various initiatives, including visiting orphanages and supporting children of internally displaced persons. Polina also has experience in project management, working on merchandise creation and engaging in social and cultural projects. She is a graduate of the “IdeasLab” acceleration program, where she gained experience in implementing innovative ideas and startups. Polina believes that youth is a driving force for social change and actively participates in initiatives that promote democratic values and strengthen civil society in Ukraine.

For me, freedom is, above all, the ability to be myself, act according to my own principles, and openly express my thoughts. It is the feeling that I have the right to choose who to be, where to go, and how to express myself in this world. Freedom, to me, is not only the absence of constraints but also the responsibility for my own choices and actions.
It is important for me to have space for self-expression, the ability to speak about what matters to me without fear of judgment or misunderstanding. It is the right to make mistakes from which I learn and the chance to independently shape my path. I believe that true freedom is an inner state where I am held back neither by external limitations nor by my own fears.