The UKRAINE IS YOU project

The UKRAINE IS YOU project, took place on the occasion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2023. 

The Project showcased Ukrainians defending freedom in the face of Russian aggression. UKRAINE IS YOU invited guests to be Ukrainian for a moment, while warning that what is happening to Ukraine is equally a threat to others. It was an experience enabling others to share some moments of power experienced by Ukrainians defending freedom, in the face of the suffering that many Ukrainians were, and still are, subjected to, during the Russian aggression.

At the core of the Project was an exhibition with film works by Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei from the liberated Kherson, showing its beauty, as well as the threats and suffering resulting from the Russian siege. There was also a movie by Oleksii Say built from thousands of photographs and witness statements describing Russian war crimes in Ukraine, complemented by informative maps and statistics.

Complementing this experience, an ongoing 3-day discursive program of the Project brought together global thinkers, experts and people from the ground in Ukraine. They discussed the assault on Ukraine, Russian war crimes and also the hope and empowerment of defending and reconquering life and freedom.

Among the key speakers of the discursive program were: Andrzej Duda, President of Poland; Patrick Desbois, Founder, Yahad-In Unum; Niall Ferguson, a Stanford University historian; Borys Gudziak, Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia for Ukrainian Catholics in the United States; President, Ukrainian Catholic Universityl; Pekka Haavisto, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland; Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor & Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Child's Rights and Rehabilitation; Vitali Kim, Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast; Oleksandr Kubrakov, Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine; Egils Levits, the President of the Republic of Latvia; Oleksandr Kornienko, First Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament; Oleksandra Matviichuk, Chair, Center for Civil Liberties; Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament; Masi Nayem, Founder, "Miller law firm", Military officer, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Geoffrey Nice, Former member, international Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Serhii Plokhii, Professor of Ukrainian History, Director, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University; Bob Seely, Member of Parliament; Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, House of Commons of the United Kingdom; Radoslaw Sikorski, Former Minister of Defence (2005-2007), Foreign Minister (2007-2014) and Speaker of Parliament (2014-2015) / Poland; Andriy Smirnov, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (online); Timothy Snyder (online), Richard C. Levin Professor of History, Yale University;  Rostyslav Shurma, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine; Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (online); Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine.

UKRAINE IS YOU was organized by Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre in cooperation with the Office of the President of Ukraine.

To read more about the Project please follow the link https://www.ukraineisyou.org/