The Role and Place of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the Russian-Ukrainian War: International Roundtable and Photo Exhibition Held at UzhNU (video)
On Friday, 9 June, the Uzhhorod National University hosted an international roundtable discussion "The Role and Place of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the Russian-Ukrainian War: Political and Humanitarian Support". The roundtable was attended by representatives of leading Ukrainian diaspora organisations from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Moldova. The event was organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of UzhNU, the World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organisations (WCUYO), the Association of Political Scientists and Internationalists of UzhNU, and the NGO "Institute for Democratisation and Development" (Kyiv). The partners of the event were the Ukrainian Association "Unity" (Budapest, Hungary) and the University of Presov (Presov, Slovak Republic).
According to the organisers, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the beginning of a full-scale invasion of its territory demonstrated to the world the power and unity of Ukrainians. Along with the heroes of the military theatre, the global Ukrainian community is making a significant contribution to the defence of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Great War, the Ukrainian diaspora has been actively involved in providing assistance in all possible areas, including humanitarian, financial and military. The diaspora also played a significant role in drawing the world's attention to possible ways to punish the aggressor.
Therefore, the purpose of the roundtable was to bring together leaders of Ukrainian diaspora structures to discuss and demonstrate the role and contribution of the global Ukrainian community to Ukraine's future victory over the Russian aggressor. And to coordinate further steps to help the Ukrainian state.
Opening the roundtable, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Yurii Ostapets stressed the importance of coordinating efforts both in Ukraine and abroad, in the diaspora, to help Ukrainians and the Ukrainian armed forces in the fight against Russian aggression. The roundtable was moderated by Volodymyr Hyrya, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at UzhNU, and Dmytro Saviuk, Head of the NGO Institute for Democratisation and Development.
Myroslava Lendiel, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work of UzhNU, said: "From the beginning of the large-scale war to the present day, UzhNU has been acting as a humanitarian hub for our compatriots. Also, our university is a bridge between students, scientists, diplomats, public figures and our graduates. I would like to thank all the university structures that initiated this event, the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, as well as the Association of Political Scientists and International Studies of UzhNU, our alumni who organise another event for our university."
In his greetings, the Head of the Department of Sociology and Social Work of UzhNU, Professor Fedir Shandor, who has been defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the first days, said: "I am very pleased to see here at the roundtable those people who help our unit and other units, and I would like to express my special gratitude to the Romanian and Hungarian diaspora for the help they provide us. We also feel the help of the Ukrainian diaspora from other countries - New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, and other countries. These are Ukrainians abroad who could be on holiday, doing their own thing. But they are helping Ukraine in its struggle for freedom."
In their welcoming remarks, Mykola-Myroslav Petretskyi, Member of the Romanian Parliament and Chairman of the Union of Ukrainians of Romania, and Iryna-Luba Horvat, Candidate of Historical Sciences and Secretary of the Union of Ukrainians of Romania, spoke about the areas of large-scale assistance provided by the UWR to Ukrainians, Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons since the first days of the war.
Yaroslava Hortyani, Honourable Member of the Board of the European Congress of Ukrainians (Hungary), Eugene Czolij, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Montreal (Canada), former President of the Ukrainian World Congress, Serhiy Kasyanchuk, Director of the Ukrainian World Congress Mission in Ukraine, and Oleksandra Ivan Hrecheniuk presented important points about the organisation of the diaspora's work to help Ukraine in time of war, President of the World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organisations, member of the Youth Council under the President of Ukraine, Stanislav Zhelikhovsky, PhD in Political Science, international relations expert at the Institute for Democratisation and Development, Roman Russu, international expert at the Union of Ukrainian Youth of Moldova " Zlahoda", member of the Youth Council at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (Republic of Moldova). The Consul of the Consulate General of Hungary in Uzhhorod, Bezseg Tomas, also made a welcoming speech at the roundtable.
Viktoriia Petrovska, Head of the Ukrainian Association "Unity" (Hungary), stressed that the position of the Hungarian government is not equal to that of the Hungarians, who have been supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians in their struggle for independence since the beginning of the large-scale invasion. "This is evidenced by the volumes of aid sent from Hungary, including by the Ukrainian Association "Unity", as well as the shelter of Ukrainian refugees in Hungary. In addition, Hungarian citizens are eager to express their solidarity with Ukraine at crowded public rallies organised by the Ukrainian diaspora in Budapest and on the streets of other Hungarian cities."
During the event, Oleksandr Bertolon, Deputy Chairman of the NGO "Association of Political Scientists and Internationalists of UzhNU", a PhD student at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of UzhNU, made a presentation on "The role of the Ukrainian diaspora in Central Europe in countering the information manipulations of the aggressor country during the war". He drew attention to the network of Russian bots that have been created and are operating in social media in Central Europe to spread Russian propaganda. According to Mr. Oleksandr, Ukrainian diaspora organisations in Central Europe should become a natural ally of the Ukrainian state "on the information battlefield" to expose the aggressor country's disinformation and ensure that EU countries support Ukraine during the war.
Gabor Prokai, a volunteer with the Carpathian Foundation (Hungary), said: "I came to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border from the first days of the war. Since then, I have been trying to help Ukrainians with everything I can. Our peoples have been living next to each other for centuries, and I believe that we Hungarians should help Ukrainians in difficult times."
Alexander Mushinka, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Presov in Presov, Slovakia, PhD, said that despite the unprecedented support of the Slovak government for Ukraine in the war, there are strong pro-Russian propaganda positions among the Slovak population in Eastern Slovakia. In this context, efforts to debunk the messages and fake information that are spread and have influence in Slovakia are very important and necessary.
Mariana Casiv-Gurak, Head of the Ukrainian Association "Maidan Malaga" (Kingdom of Spain), spoke about how Ukrainians in Spain are self-organising and providing significant assistance, both to refugees and directly for the needs of Ukraine.
During the international roundtable, an international photo exhibition "Support for Ukraine by the Ukrainian Diaspora in Central Europe during the War" was opened. The photos illustrate the political and humanitarian support of our country in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, including in providing assistance to refugees from Ukraine.
Victoria Petrovska spoke about the photos from Hungary, and the opening of the exhibition was attended by Victoria Geiger, a photographer of the Ukrainian community in Budapest, author of most of the photos on display from the Ukrainian Association "Unity".
Ірина Люба Горват розповіла про волонтерські фото, які презентують допомогу Союзу українців Румунії. Александр Мушинка представив фотороботи свого друга, одного з кращих фотокореспондентів Словаччини, фотографа і репортера газети Denník N. Андрея Бана.
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