(The videos can also be viewed directly on the UPF Austria Vimeo channel.)
On December 13, UPF organized an International Leadership Conference at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, on the theme: “Europe and Ukraine: Common Perspectives and Values”. The event was co-hosted by the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) and the Ukrainian Peace Council.
The conference followed the fact-finding tour initiated by UPF Europe and Middle East in Kyiv, Ukraine, in November 2023. At that time, the Ukrainian Peace Council organized a round table discussion at Ukraine Drahomanov University, and a visit to the Peace School project run by UPF Ukraine.
On December 13th morning, the Ukrainian delegation was invited to the Austrian Parliament to meet with Hon. Pia Maria Wieninger, a parliamentarian from the Socialist Democratic Party. After an interesting visit of the Parliament, which recalled that the Austrian Empire’s parliamentary assembly also included some Ukrainian representatives, the delegates met with MP Wieninger, who confirmed her country’s support and her personal support for war-torn Ukraine.
The conference at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy was an opportunity for Ukrainian participants to present their views on the current war situation in their country, and on the prospect for a common future between Europe and Ukraine.
The first session, entitled “Europe – Ukraine: A Common Cultural Heritage” was moderated by Czech UPF President Dr. Juraj Lajda. Conference co-hosts, UPF Austria President, Peter Haider, and, Vice President of the Ukrainian Peace Council, Dr Volodymir Novokhatsky delivered the welcoming greetings.
After thanking Austria for welcoming 90,000 Ukrainian refugees, Dr Novokhatsky introduced his organization. Established in 1951 by eminent Ukrainian figures, the Council was led after independence by Ukraine’s First President, Leonid Kravchuk until his death in 2022. Led today by Prof. Mykhailo Zgurovsky, former Rector of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, the Council functions both as a governmental and non-governmental institution to meet the needs of civil society for the sake of peace in Ukraine.
Dr. Werner Fasslabend, AIES President and former Austrian Minister of Defense, was the first panelist. After briefly commenting on European democratic ideals, he considered implications for the war in the light of the upcoming Trump administration. He realistically described the challenges Ukraine will face on the path toward EU integration and urged the Ukrainians to stay the course and not waver in their objectives.
Dr Vasyl Kremen, the president of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine and a former Minister of Education, underlined Ukraine’s ideological, religious and mental affinity with Europe. He described their common political traditions, insisting that “Ukraine is returning home to the European family of nations”.
Prof. Angela Mickley, a professor of Peace Education at Potsdam University in Germany, shared about her rich experience in conflict resolution, from Northern Ireland to South Africa, where she helped communication between hostile communities and fighting parties. She highlighted some of her key principles, such as the need to “separate the perpetrator from the deed”, and to respect both the victim and the offender in a conflict.
Dr Viktor Andruschenko, Rector of Drahomanov Ukrainian University and President of the International Association of Rectors of Pedagogical Universities of Europe, spoke on the “Educational Potential of Peace”. To overcome threats of totalitarianism, education plays the most crucial role. He pleaded for resuming the Association’s project of a Pedagogical Constitution of Europe, interrupted by the war, which intends to make teachers the “guarantors of civilization’s longevity”.
Amb. Valery Tsybukh, an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and president of the Council for Environmental Security of Ukraine, spoke of the role of Ukraine NGOs, such as the Ukrainian Peace Council, on the path toward European integration. Their focus is “post-war economic revival - not just recovery”, he said, meaning a qualitive transformation aiming at a “renaissance” of Ukraine through innovations and advanced technologies.
The second session, entitled “Europe - Ukraine: Perspectives For A Common Future”, moderated by UPF Central Europe President Dr. Dieter Schmidt, began with greetings by Ukraine UPF president Dr Mykhailo Ilin, who has been maintaining the UPF Peace School educational project despite the challenges of war.
Dr Yaroslav Yuvsechko, Vice President of the National Association of Religious Study in Ukraine, gave a brief review of the religious landscape of Ukraine since the beginning of the war. He described the emergence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine which since 2018, has received 1500 religious communities from the Moscow Patriarchate-related Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He noted the patriotic alignment of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and a diversity of trends among protestant churches and Muslim organizations.
Hon. Lukas Mandl, Austrian Member of the European Parliament, reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s full support for Ukraine. Religion may sometimes be misused, he said, but this does not change the essential values it promotes, such as human dignity. Freedom is God-given and not achieved by political means, although must be protected by politics. Ukraine will be integrated into Europe, but it must first win the war and undergo a long reconstruction process.
School director Tetyana Fedunova, Head of the Association of Schools of Kyiv City and vice president of the UNESCO association in Ukraine, shared about the traumatic experiences of school children under daily Russian missile attack. She described the Peace School project that she is leading with UPF in Ukraine, whereby students are trained as “Junior Peace Ambassadors”, meeting with diplomats, politicians, foreign students, and learning to develop through serving others.
Dr. Afsar Rathor, a former UN Peacekeeping Mission Executive, shared some of his experiences with conflict around the world, and concluded with an overview of the prospective costs of Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction. He outlined the benefits which Ukraine integration would bring to the European Union, citing the Green Deal project, since Ukraine’s potential renewable energy output is seven times the European Union’s demand.
The presentations on the highly topical issue of the war in Ukraine, plus the attendance of many eminent Ukrainian scholars and educators, stimulated great audience interest, and both panels concluded with passionate questions and comments.
In conclusion, UPF Europe and Middle East Co-chairman Jacques Marion explained about UPF’s contribution to the project of a Universal Peace Charter recently launched by the Cambodian government, aimed at establishing an international framework for solidarity and peace between states, and between states and non-state actors. He announced the launch of an Asia Pacific Union Forum at the upcoming UPF World Summit in Korea in April 2025, in the presence of parliamentarians from around the world. The forum will address the issue of tensions in Northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula, which directly impact Europe through the war in Ukraine.
At the close of the conference, the Ambassador for Peace of the Year award for 2024 was received by Victor Andrushchenko; and the honorary title of "Ambassador for Peace" was awarded to Lesya Korolyk-Boyko, Chairman of the International Organization “Progress of Women Peacekeepers in the Diaspora”; Julia Mokh, opera singer, co-organizer and member of the jury of the International Vocal Competition Kvitka Cisyk; and Natalia Evdokimova, Rector of the Pylyp Orlyk International Classical University.