AI Helps Ukraine was a charity conference for raising funds to support Ukrainians facing the severe humanitarian crisis. We brought together the leading experts of AI to present recent advances in the field and attract attention of the AI community to those who are in urgent need.
The conference consisted of two parts: a series of online talks taking place online in November - December 2022 and an in-person full-day conference happening on December 8th 2022 at Mila Quebec AI Institute in Montreal.
Participation was free and everyone was welcome to donate according to their possibilities. All contributions were used to support Ukraine with medical and humanitarian aid.
Our Speakers
Why
Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a grave humanitarian crisis destroying civilian infrastructure and forcing millions of people to leave their homes seeking safety and protection. According to UNHCR, more than 7.2 million of Ukrainians had to flee from the war abroad and more than 6.9 million were displaced within the country since 24 February 2022. Many of them are still located close to the conflict zones and remain in need of food, hygiene, warm clothes and shelters. Together with infrastructure, medicine supply chains were broken and these days Ukrainian hospitals are lacking not only specialized medicines and machines but even essential basics, such as toilet paper and medical gloves.
Some of our team members learned about this disastrous situation first hand, from their friends and families in Ukraine. As AI researches and world citizens, it became unthinkable for us to continue doing our work without making every effort to help people in Ukraine. Therefore, we are organising a fundraising charity conference asking the broad international AI community to give a hand to those in dire need. We do believe that our collective efforts can make a real difference and save lives.
Who we support
Interview with the National Cancer Institute of Ukraine & the Ukraine Medical Support in Canada:
Read more about who we support here.
How
How do we use donations?
We are collecting donations to purchase and deliver medicines and supplies for people living in destroyed areas and oncological patients in Ukraine. Together with our partners, we buy and ship the most essential things directly to Ukraine.
How do we know what is needed in Ukraine right now?
We and our partners are in close contact with hospitals and charities in Ukraine, which provide first-hand information about the current vital necessities of people in the area. One of our major aid recipients is the National Cancer Institute of Ukraine, the largest hospital and research institute treating oncological patients in Ukraine.
How do we deliver supplies to Ukraine?
Our main partner is Ukraine Medical Support, a Canadian-based non-profit organisation, which helps us with the logistics and shipment process. They have access to a warehouse in Canada and in Ukraine, and they are in contact with organisations inside Ukraine to pick up the material and do the shipments.
How can you get involved?
We are looking for the following donations: money, medicines and equipment. We encourage tech and pharma companies, as well as individuals, to donate whatever they can (money or supplies) to support vulnerable people in Ukraine.
Who
We are a group of early-career AI researchers and friends taking personally the situation in Ukraine. We know first hand the challenges which Ukrainians have been facing due to the war and we want to support them as much as we can. You are very welcome to read more about us and get in touch!
Our sponsors
Contact
If you have questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please send us an email to ai.helps.ukraine@mila.quebec. We encourage you to follow us on Twitter for announcements.