Third Session of the XIX USPS Programme

Living under constant stress because of the war, we need solid ground beneath our feet and someone we can rely on to stay morally strong. Synergy is impossible without trust, which must be built — through openness, sincerity, humour, joint action, mutual warmth and kindness.

With this mission — to help participants open up more — the session welcomed Yaroslava Kravchenko, founder and director of the Wild Theatre, as well as a 2024 USPS alumna.

Every individual, group or community has its own identity. It is not fixed; it often changes under the influence of external circumstances.

Historian and public intellectual Yaroslav Hrytsak asserts that the Ukrainian national identity has already been formed. A nation, he explains, is more like a garden than a thicket. It needs care, institutions and shared practices. Thus, our task now is not to build the nation, but to modernise it.

Today, the existential question ‘who are we?’ is shifting towards ‘how do we act together?’. How can we modernise public services, ensure equality of rules, support the Ukrainian language as the language of public interaction and at the same time remain open to diversity? Participants sought answers to these questions together with the lecturer.

‘Why do we need gender-responsive leadership?’ — this was the question that participants began their discussion on equality with, together with Kateryna Riabiko, Chair of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and a regular lecturer of the USPS.

In modern Ukraine, given the war and the shifting labour force, this issue is particularly pressing. Women are moving into new and higher positions, and the proportion of women in traditionally ‘male’ jobs is growing. Therefore, the discussion on what it means to be a gender-responsive leader and why this is necessary is highly relevant and valuable today.

Lviv has traditionally and very warmly hosted the third USPS session for many years. During this time, we have observed the city’s transformations — urban, social and cultural. Today, Lviv is the largest transport hub and is also creating an entirely new ecosystem for the rehabilitation and recovery of veterans and civilians affected by russian aggression.

Participants held a discussion with Andrii Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv. We are grateful to the Lviv City Council for the inspiration.

We learn about other countries through culture. Italy is Verdi, Austria is Mozart, and Poland is Chopin. Presenting one’s own culture to the world — so-called ‘cultural diplomacy’ — says a great deal about a country. But how do we speak about ourselves?

Until 1991, culture and art in Ukraine developed not thanks to politicians, but rather despite them — often against efforts aimed at creating a sense of inferiority and denying uniqueness and self-sufficiency. How ready is Ukraine now to present itself to the world?

Marta Kuzii, a classical pianist and 2024 USPS alumna, gave the group a lecture on prominent Ukrainian composers and brought their works to life through her performance.

Religion and the Church, from their very inception, have been drivers of the political, educational and social life of communities. The Church’s influence remains significant today: modern politicians periodically try to play the religious card before elections, while the Church continues to be an important social institution.

Participants had the opportunity to discuss the role of the Church in contemporary socio-political life with Andrii Andrushkiv, Lieutenant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Master of Theology and 2016 USPS alumnus.

The judicial system today is like a stone simply rolling somewhere — its movement uncontrolled and without a clear destination. Yet over ten years of judicial reform, we have seen tangible results: the renewed Supreme Court, the High Anti-Corruption Court and the High Council of Justice.

Ukrainian society is now observing several processes unfolding within the judicial system that may prove decisive in shaping its future. These concern not only legislative changes but also deeper transformations affecting how justice is perceived in society. The group discussed these developments with Ivan Mishchenko, Judge of the Supreme Court and 2024 USPS alumnus.

Participants continued their discussion on the changing role of women — this time focusing on the field of film production. Every year, the proportion of women in the film industry grows, albeit slowly — by around 1%. In Ukraine, this figure is somewhat higher, with women increasingly taking on technical positions such as camera operators and directors.

Nataliia Libet and Olha Bregman, co-founders of 2BraveProductions and film producers, discussed with the group the emerging trend of women’s growing role in film production and how Ukrainian films make their way to international film festivals.

We know very little about the dissidents. We know their names and their creative works, but who were these people? It is a mistake to think of them as professional protesters or systemic opposition figures. They were ordinary individuals who tried to act ethically and live truthfully. For them, creativity and human rights activity were not attempts to overthrow the regime — it was the Soviet system itself that turned their free expression into politics. The dissidents, for their part, thought in ethical categories.

Together with Radomyr Mokryk — historian, publicist and lecturer at the Ukrainian Catholic University — participants discussed what the Ukrainian dissident movement represented under Soviet policies of cultural colonisation and what lessons from the dissidents’ experience remain relevant today.

The final discussion of the third session focused on a topic constantly in the public eye — the widening divide between the military and civilians. In the fourth year of the full-scale war, Ukrainian society has a strong demand for justice, particularly regarding service members who are deprived of many rights: the right to a fair trial, to individualised consideration of cases in court and to basic judicial guarantees available to civilians. Transfers do not function properly, while problems with mobilisation and discipline are often addressed by increasing the severity of punishment.

Are the military-political leadership and decision-makers prepared to take the hard and unpopular decisions necessary for our victory? Why is justice important for everyone, and how can it unite society? Participants sought answers to these questions together with Andrii Pysarenko, a lawyer and commander of a mortar battery in the separate assault battalion Vovky Da Vinci.

It was conversations like these that energised the Third Session of the XIX USPS Programme. We are grateful to the participants for their openness and to the lecturers for their candour. The journey of this group does not end here — ahead lies the World Forum for Democracy, where the group will represent Ukraine.