29 august 2024

Cognitive Deoccupation: Visions, Challenges and Prospects

On 29 August, the Ukrainian School of Political Studies, together with the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the ZMINA Human Rights Centre, held the USPS Club "Cognitive Deoccupation: Visions, Challenges and Prospects".

The discussion was devoted to the methods of informational counteraction to russian propaganda, the role of historical narratives in the process of cognitive deoccupation, as well as how interaction between local communities and opinion leaders can contribute to cognitive deoccupation. The discussion was moderated by Dmytro Teperyk, an expert on security and stability in the field of cognitive deoccupation of Crimea of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine.

At this stage, two trends might be distinguished: the first one characterises the essence of the process. Cognitive deoccupation is the most sensitive area of Ukraine’s strategic vision for the reintegration of Crimea. The problem of responsibility, a hostile mental environment, the transformation of consciousness — all these factors complicate an already controversial concept.

The second trend is the lack of practical experience in the application of cognitive deoccupation methods. For the first time, Ukraine will have to face the reintegration of territories, and therefore potential problems. In addition, the case of Crimea is unique, and even international practice may not always offer an effective alternative.

Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea and a 2021 USPS alumna, emphasises the efforts made by the authorities together with representatives of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian public sectors despite the existing problems:

Cultural diplomacy has grown tremendously, as it is very important for us that people learn more about Crimea and the culture of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine. To effectively implement the strategy of cognitive deoccupation, we try to involve opinion leaders from the Ukrainian cultural space to strengthen government programmes related to Crimea.

Tamila Tasheva

Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Head of the National Office of the Crimean Platform and a 2021 USPS Alumna

It is now essential to work on a broad public consensus on the future of the peninsula, as well as to accommodate the rights of the indigenous peoples of Crimea. The russian occupation authorities began transforming the consciousness of citizens in Crimea back in 2014. However, they are still making every effort to influence our citizens’ perception of the history of the peninsula. Therefore, decolonisation of knowledge about Crimea should be one of the priority tasks — and in this sense, cognitive deoccupation concerns the whole of Ukraine.

The political determination of Crimea’s status remains a crucial aspect of deoccupation, and the Crimean Tatar community has high expectations. This was stated by Nariman Dzhelal, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, journalist and politician who spent three years in russian captivity:

Only if the state develops the right attitude towards this issue and has the ability to resolve it with due regard for the rights of indigenous peoples will this have a positive outcome. It is important that in this process Ukraine strengthens its integrity and security. I think this may be achieved if we overcome stereotypes and fear of making bold decisions and steps in this direction.

Nariman Dzhelal

Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people

It is necessary to eradicate the narrative that work on mechanisms of cognitive deoccupation is not urgent — we need to prepare for the implementation of state policy, first of all, by training personnel. Today we need to understand who will work and represent the Ukrainian state after the deoccupation process.

One of the main tasks here is to bring people back to our side — as many of our fellow citizens as possible. Currently, there is little information about Crimea and its future in the Ukrainian media space, but it is important for people in Crimea to see this in order to feel connected: “The people who stay there want to feel that they are waited for and remembered, and this is an important part of the state policy on deoccupation”. After all, those who have maintained respect for their own state for 10 years are the people we can also rely on in the deoccupation process. And to prevent revenge, we need to work more deeply with the younger generation, avoiding the mistakes of the first decades of independence.

While in the free part of Ukraine we are going through a process of decolonisation, including cognitive decolonisation, in Crimea the opposite is happening: colonisation through the imposition of a new identity, physical settlement of another national group and the destruction of democratic institutions. Unfortunately, we are losing Ukrainian consciousness in the occupied territories. Today, most of our messages do not reach Crimea, we communicate only to the administrative border.

Meanwhile, the Crimean Tatars who remained on the peninsula are closing themselves off from the world due to the huge level of mistrust and fear. A repressive body has emerged that has atomised Crimean Tatar society. We need to create platforms through which we can reach out to people behind the curtain. After all, Crimean Tatars here and on the peninsula are the thread that unites us.

Culture, including educational and language projects, remains a safe platform for these actions. Alim Aliev, Deputy Director General at Ukrainian Institute, draws attention to the importance of finding voices and tools that will be effective both in Crimea and in Kyiv.

We must decolonise knowledge about Crimea. These myths and stereotypes that existed before 2014 have been partially dispelled, but unfortunately, many stereotypes still remain. The decolonisation of knowledge about Crimea should take place through educational channels, through a deeper explanation of what Crimea and the Crimean Tatars are, and what the indigenous people are. Because now the understanding of the indigenous people is put on the same level as the understanding of the national community, and these are different categories. This is an educational work for Crimean Tatars as well, but without Ukrainians and opinion leaders within the country, we will not be able to do this work.

Alim Aliev

Deputy Director General at Ukrainian Institute

This event of the USPS Club was supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, which is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America. We would like to thank the PFRU, the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the ZMINA Human Rights Centrefor the fruitful partnership and important discussions!