This was the first time “Aktualni Dialohy” was held in Ukraine; for two years before that, Rostyslav Prokopiuk had run the project in Prague. In Kyiv, the discussion covered personal experiences of the war and the changes in Ukrainian society, touching on European security, the role of NATO, cultural diplomacy, and the fight for Ukrainian history on the world stage.
One of the central topics was the change in Ukrainian society under the influence of the war. The guests shared their thoughts on how Ukrainians are living through the Russian-Ukrainian war and how attitudes toward the Ukrainian language and identity are changing.
“We want to see what can support us, inspire us, mobilize us. So you seize this moment of transformation. And you’re glad that, for example, in your own residential complex, people who used to speak Russian are starting to switch to Ukrainian. Maybe gradually, maybe not consistently, but they’re trying to find themselves in this transformation,” said Irma Vitovska.
According to her, culture is an important part of this process as a tool for explaining the Ukrainian experience to the world.
Rostyslav Prokopiuk spoke about people who discover strength in themselves under the conditions of war, and shared his experience working with Ukrainians released from Russian captivity.
“After this estrangement comes this transformation — the transformation of ordinary guys from various professions, from the intelligentsia to the most ordinary people, about whom no one in their life ever said they could become heroes. This is the transformation from an ordinary person into a hero,” noted Rostyslav Prokopiuk.
A separate part of the conversation was devoted to Europe and its readiness to respond to modern security challenges. Volodymyr Ohryzko emphasized that the current security architecture needs to change, and that Ukraine already has experience that could be important for Europe’s future.
“We are now, truly through blood, through terrible things, moving toward this long-awaited freedom, which will finally be complete, because when russia disappears, the threat will disappear for everyone — for us first of all, but not only for us. It will disappear for all of present-day russia’s neighbors, for Europe, for America, for all of civilization,” noted Volodymyr Ohryzko.
During “Aktualni Dialohy,” the participants also discussed critical thinking, information influence operations, historical memory, the Ukrainian language, the experience of war, cultural diplomacy, and the need to explain the Ukrainian experience to the world without the mediation of russian narratives.
“Aktualni Dialohy” (Actual Dialogues) is an independent discussion project by Rostyslav Prokopiuk, launched by the Ukrainian Institute in Prague.
The event’s partners were the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, the Ukrainian Institute in Prague, and the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.
The full video recording of “Aktualni Dialohy” featuring Irma Vitovska and Volodymyr Ohryzko can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19834Br74N/
