INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE IN ZHYTOMYR
On 2–3 July 2026, the Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University hosted the international scientific conference “European Integration and Ukraine: Historical Memory and Migration Challenges.”
The conference brought together scholars, university lecturers, doctoral students, journalists, and representatives of civil society organizations. Participants discussed a wide range of issues, including: Ukraine’s path towards EU membership through the prism of historical memory, security, and identity; European integration during wartime in its political, cultural, and value dimensions; the Russian-Ukrainian war and European debates on historical memory; new memorial practices of Ukrainians; Ukrainian and European oral history research during the Russian-Ukrainian war; memory policies in EU member states; the Holocaust as a foundational framework of memory; mnemonic security as a component of Ukraine’s European integration; historical memory as an instrument of foreign policy; Ukrainian migrants in Europe during the Russian-Ukrainian war and the transformation of diaspora communities; migration as a factor of economic and cultural change; the role of cultural diplomacy in shaping Ukraine’s image abroad; and the media space of war, with particular attention to visual narratives of Ukraine in the European Union.
Three researchers from our Institute participated in the conference: Professor Yurii Shapoval, Doctor of Historical Sciences; Professor Oleh Kalakura, Doctor of Political Sciences; and Associate Professor Yurii Polishchuk, Doctor of Historical Sciences.
Professor Yurii Shapoval chaired and delivered a presentation at the panel “The Legacy of Jerzy Giedroyc and Contemporary Europe.” The panel was organized to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Jerzy Giedroyc, the distinguished Polish publicist, political thinker, and public figure, founder and editor-in-chief of the renowned Polish-language journal Kultura. The anniversary will be marked on 27 July 2026.
Participants of the conference.