Virtual Panel Discussion: Is there Room for Culture?  Challenges of Ukraine’s Nascent Cultural Diplomacy Today

Thursday, June 11, 2020  Time  1.15 – 3.15 pm (EDT)

Event language: English

Watch this event on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vFcxb8ru1gI

Ukraine continues to remain locked in an undeclared war with Russia, and the economic downturn—including from the coronavirus outbreak—is putting a squeeze on the country’s finances. How important is culture and cultural diplomacy in this time of crisis and existential threat to Ukraine? Should recent efforts to invest in actively shaping the country’s image abroad using culture and scholarship be continued, or put on a back burner until “better times”? How can the success of cultural institutions’ efforts to meaningfully reach foreign audiences be measured, and what does success look like?

Eight leading institutions from the US, Canada, and the UK that specialize in studying Ukraine, its culture, and society, and two prominent Ukrainian institutions invite you to an online discussion of these questions.

Panelists:

• Volodymyr Sheiko (Ukrainian Institute, Kyiv)
• Iryna Baturevych (Ukrainian Book Institute, Kyiv)
• Marina Pesenti (Ukrainian Institute, London)
• Jessica Zychowicz (Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies)

Moderator:  Oleh Kotsyuba (Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University)

Featuring questions and comments from the organizing institutions:

• Dominique Arel (Chair of Ukrainian Studies, University of Ottawa)
• Kateryna Bondar (Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, Stanford University)
• Vitaly Chernetsky (Shevchenko Scientific Society in the USA)
• Paul D’Anieri (American Association for Ukrainian Studies)
• Olenka Pevny (Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, University of Cambridge)

Organizers:

American Association for Ukrainian Studies
Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, Cambridge University
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
Chair of Ukrainian Studies, University of Ottawa
Shevchenko Scientific Society in the USA
Ukrainian Book Institute, Kyiv
Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, Stanford University
Ukrainian Institute, Kyiv
Ukrainian Institute, London
Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University