The Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in 2014, forced millions of Ukrainian men and women to leave their homes and look for a new home in safer regions of Ukraine. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is estimated to have increased from 1.3 million in 2014-2015 to 4.6 million in 2022.
A round table on the topic “Experiences of reintegration in Lviv since 2014: a round table presentation of the project “Life from a blank sheet” will take place on October 13 at 4:00 p.m. at the Center for the Urban History of Central and Eastern Europe (Lviv, Akademika Bogomoletsa St. , 6/2).Entrance to the event is free, but prior registration is required.
Unfortunately, the experiences of the first wave of IDPs were not properly documented and studied before a full-scale invasion began. Therefore, in the spring of 2022, Ukrainian society was largely unprepared for a new wave of victims. In order to find more effective algorithms, methods and mechanisms for the reintegration of new residents in communities and communities, we decided to study the experience of those who have already gone through this path.
At our event “Experiences of reintegration in Lviv since 2014: a round table-presentation of the project “Life from a clean slate”, we will present the results of 8 oral history interviews with Ukrainian men and women who, due to the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014-2015 were forced to move to Lviv in the 1990s. How did they manage to reintegrate in the new communities? What factors most helped them find their place in these communities? And, most importantly, what tools can be used to build more effective communication between the new arrivals and Lviv residents?
Among the participants of our round table will be the heroes of our interviews, sociologists, researchers and public activists who develop reintegration practices in Lviv. The discussion will be moderated by Natalya Otrishchenko, candidate of sociological sciences and research associate at the Center for Urban History of Central-Eastern Europe (Lviv).
Participants of the event:
Evgenia Nesterovych is a cultural manager, editor, critic, writer, director of the NGO “Post Bellum – Ukraine”.
Lesya Berezdetska is a sociologist, cultural manager, playwright. I was engaged in the research part of the project “Life from a blank sheet”.
Olga Donechchanka is a poet, musician, author of the novel “I Love Life So Much”. In the past, she worked in a kindergarten in Kramatorsk and as a physics teacher in Donetsk. In 2014, Olga’s family was forced to leave Donetsk and move to Kramatorsk, and later to Lviv.
Amet Dilyaver ogli Bekir is a teacher, founder of the public organization “Areket”, which is engaged in the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons, a project participant. In 2014, his family left the occupied peninsula and settled in Drohobych. Later they moved to Lviv.
Kateryna Ptaha is a well-known photographer from Lviv, a participant in the project. In 2014, Kateryna and her disabled son left on the last train from Luhansk to Lviv.
The project “Life from a blank slate: stories of integration” is a documentary collection of oral history interviews with immigrants, recorded by the NGO “Post Bellum – Ukraine”. Our organization is engaged in documenting the testimonies of Ukrainian eyewitnesses of key events of the XX-XXI centuries. We tell stories of struggle against totalitarian regimes and strengthen the subjectivity of each person in history. We strive to restore and preserve the historical memory of the Ukrainian people for current and future generations by filling the international online archive www.memoryofnation.eu. We tell, document and amplify.
The project “Life from a clean slate: stories of integration” is part of the “Culture Helps” initiative, which is supported by the European Union within the framework of a special call for proposals to support Ukrainian displaced persons and the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors. The project is implemented by Other Education (UA) and zusa (DE).
ABOUT US. Post Bellum-Ukraine was founded in 2020 on the initiative of Post Bellum’s sister organization in the Czech Republic and in partnership with the Memorial Museum of Totalitarian Regimes “Territory of Terror”. The mission of our organization is to document the testimonies of Ukrainian eyewitnesses of key events of the XX-XXI centuries. We tell stories of struggle against totalitarian regimes and strengthen the subjectivity of each person in history. We strive to restore and preserve the historical memory of the Ukrainian people for current and future generations by filling the international online archive www.memoryofnation.eu. Oral history and documentaries are powerful tools that will help effectively counter Russian propaganda and help destroy their narratives about Ukraine in the current Russian-Ukrainian war. We tell, document and amplify.