In Solidarity with Ukraine: the program of foreign authors’, journalists’, and cultural activists’ visits to Ukraine is underway

The first phase of the program launched by PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute under support by the Prague Civil Society Centre will last from September till the end of November 2023. Informational partnership of the program is provided by Espresso TV channel.

In Solidarity with Ukraine is a program aimed at creating a message about the consequences of the Russian military’s crimes against Ukraine and its culture and giving the participants of delegations a sense of context and understanding of the current situation in Ukraine during the war.

By the end of the year, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute are going to host 4 delegations from Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and France. 20 foreign authors, journalists, publicists, cultural managers and opinion leaders will have a series of meetings with Ukrainian cultural and human rights institutions, artists and military journalists, visit liberated and frontline cities and villages affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Upon the end of the visits, the delegations’ participants are expected to become ambassadors of Ukraine abroad, writing about it in the international media, launching projects of support and establishing contacts with Ukrainian cultural, civic, and human rights institutions.

"Russia’s imperial attempts to exterminate Ukrainian culture and identity have not begun in 2022 or 2014: this lasts for centuries. It’s important for us that as many representatives of cultural and media spheres worldwide as possible understood the reasons for this genocidal war and became ambassadors of Ukraine in their countries. This is primarily why most of the participants of In Solidarity with Ukraine are media professionals and cultural activists who are going to visit Ukraine for the first time. They will see the consequences of the Russian occupiers’ crimes and meet the Ukrainian changemakers to feel the current social and cultural context of our country’s existence," says Tetyana Teren, executive director of PEN Ukraine.

In Solidarity With Ukraine starts on September 4 with the visit of an Italian group which will include:

• Roberta Zunini — journalist, writer. Works for the media such as: "L’Espresso", "il Reportage", "Il Fatto Quotidiano". Covers the events in Ukraine for the Italian audience since 2014;
• Francesco Chiamulera — director of Una Montagna di Libri book festival. Since the Russian aggression to Ukraine started, he made his mission to devote the largest space possible to the cause of the Ukrainian resistance, the correct information about the development of war, the memory of Holodomor, and more in general the understanding by the Italian public of the many facets of the Ukrainian identity, in history and, most important, through the books;
• Nona Mikhelidze — senior fellow at the Institute of Foreign Affairs (Istituto Affari Internazionali) in Rome, member of the European Leadership Network, researcher in the field of foreign affairs with the focus on the European Union and the countries of the Eastern Partnership;
• Paola Peduzzi — journalist with Il Foglio outlet, specialized in foreign policy;
• Christian Rocca — chief editor of the Linkiesta portal which publishes daily articles on Ukraine. In cooperation with the New York Times, Christian developed the project Homage to Ukraine (Omaggio all’Ucraina).

"We initiate cultural activists’, journalists’ and worldwide influencers’ visits to Ukraine so that it wasn’t just us who would come to their countries and talk about our lives during the war but also them who would get acquainted with Ukrainian artistic and civic communities and become our voices around the globe. It’s an important process, and I’m sure it will contribute to our support worldwide," says Alim Aliev, deputy general director of the Ukrainian Institute.

Within In Solidarity with Ukraine the discussion "Can democracies defend themselves?" will also be held at the space of PEN Ukraine in partnership with the UkraineWorld project. All members of the Italian delegation will participate in the event moderated by Volodymyr Yermolenko, philosopher, writer, and president of PEN Ukraine. The conversation will deal with the issues of challenges for nowadays democracies and what can the Ukrainian struggle tell the world about democracies’ resilience.

Time: Wednesday, September 6, 19:00

Place: the space of PEN Ukraine (Kyiv, Lukyanivska Street, 14а)

To attend the meeting, please, fill in the registration form: https://forms.gle/5kpDFrxvjNgExDsLA

The event will be held in English without translation.