SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “CURRENT ISSUES IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE STATE SERVICE OF UKRAINE FOR ETHNOPOLITICS AND FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE”

On December 15, in Kyiv, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) held a scientific and practical conference entitled “Current Issues in the Activities of DESS”, dedicated to the latest challenges in the fields of ethnopolitics, freedom of conscience, and social cohesion. The event brought together representatives of public authorities, members of parliament, scholars, and international experts for a professional discussion of issues that are particularly relevant for Ukraine in the context of war and European integration.

The conference was structured around three discussion panels and one round table. The speakers focused on the following key issues: the state of ethno-confessional relations; practical aspects of implementing current legislation regulating the activities of religious organizations; the creation of conditions for the harmonious coexistence of various ethnic communities in Ukraine’s multicultural society; and the fulfillment of Ukraine’s international obligations in the context of its movement toward the European Union.

Among the invited participants were members of the DESS Expert Council on Ethnopolitics, including Viktor Kotyhorenko, Head of the Department of Ethnopolitology at the I. F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Political Science and Professor, as well as Oleh Kalakura, Chief Research Fellow of the Department of Ethnopolitology, Doctor of Political Science and Professor. They took part in the work of Panel No. 2, “Ethnopolitics and Interethnic Unity of the State under Martial Law: Instruments of Public Management”.

Viktor Kotyhorenko delivered a presentation entitled “On the Contradictions between Legal Regulators and Practices of Ukraine’s Ethnopolitics”, while Oleh Kalakura spoke on “The Peace Plan as a Challenge for Adjusting Ukraine’s Ethnopolitics”.

Participants of the conference expressed confidence that the activities of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience are consistent with the strategy of the Council of Europe and European standards of interethnic interaction.