February 23, 2024
Speakers: Oleksandra Matviichuk, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Kristina Hook. Moderator: Aleksandra Hrycak
Speakers: Oleksandra Matviichuk, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Kristina Hook. Moderator: Aleksandra Hrycak
Resilience, Resistance, Renewal: Two Years of the Full-Scale War in Ukraine
Presented by the Shevchenko Scientific Society in collaboration with the Cooper Union and the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
Location: The Great Hall at The Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003 (enter at corner of Astor Place and Cooper Square)
After two years of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, the world remains inspired by Ukrainian resilience and resistance in the face of genocide and atrocities. What does an act of Ukrainian resistance look like? What are the obstacles confronting Ukrainian society and its partners abroad? How do we defend Ukrainian culture and identity as cities are being razed to the ground? Ukraine’s formidable challenges range from documenting ongoing war crimes to facing political complications that become inevitable in the midst of a colonial war. On the eve of the war’s second anniversary, leading experts convene to explore where the full-scale invasion stands, how we arrived at this current moment, and, most importantly, what needs to be done to ensure a lasting Ukrainian victory.
Speakers include 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Matviichuk (joining virtually); Volodymyr Yermolenko, president of PEN Ukraine; and Kristina Hook, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
About the Speakers:
A Ukrainian human rights lawyer, Oleksandra Matviichuk heads the human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, the first Ukrainian organization to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She has been with the Center, which works to protect human rights and establish democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region, since its founding in 2007. In 2021, Matviichuk was nominated to the United Nations Committee against Torture, making history as Ukraine’s first female candidate to the UN treaty body. She attended Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher, journalist, and writer who serves as the president of PEN Ukraine. A recipient of the Yurii Sheveliov Prize and Petro Mohyla Award, he is also the analytics director at Internews Ukraine, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld.org, and an associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. His work has appeared in outlets such as The Economist, the Financial Times, and The New York Times.
Kristina Hook is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. She specializes in genocide and mass atrocity prevention, emerging technologies, and post-conflict reconstruction. She is also an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University, where she specializes in genocide prevention and international human rights. An expert in Ukraine-Russian relations, she is a former Fulbright Scholar to Ukraine and has served as a U.S. Department of State policy advisor for mass atrocity prevention. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
