Ukrainian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame (USA) organized Ukraine Impact Forum: Faith & Resilience. Administrators of the universities, educators, politicians, and civic activists from Ukraine and the USA gathered to discuss Ukraine’s future and the role of faith in times of crisis.
Ukraine Impact Forum – Faith & Resilience
During his speech, Archbishop of the Philadelphia Archeparchy of the UGCC and President of Ukrainian Catholic University Metropolitan Borys Gudziak stated:
“The war has changed my life. I’m spending significantly more time in Ukraine. When you see so much suffering – millions of refugees, homes and educational institutions destroyed – it changes you. But at the same time, in the middle of this destruction, life continues. People support one another. In the most difficult moments: Without electricity, heat, they don’t fall into despair. This is solidarity, great potential.”
Metropolitan Borys Gudziak
The archbishop called the forum’s participants to prayer and action: “Pray, because we’ve seen too many miracles not to understand that God intervenes in history. Second, advocate. Inform, be informed, and inform others. Advocate. And third, help as you can. Everybody, according to their talents and according to their needs.”
Participants of the Ukraine Impact Forum- Faith & Resilience, photo- Philadelphia Archeparchy of the UGCC
UCU Rector Taras Dobko reminded those present that the full-scale war in Ukraine has entered its fifth year, but the Russian aggression is in its thirteenth, starting with the annexation of Crimea.
“This year at the university we will welcome students, freshmen, who actually know what was before the war only from stories of other people. Then they were still children and don’t have their own experience of life without a war,” stated Taras Dobko.
He emphasized that, in this situation, universities are called to be communities which provide meaning, hope: “To prepare for the reconstruction and to win the peace, we need people with character and cutting-edge technologies. And this means we should cherish the culture of service. Because now there is a saying in Ukraine: either in the armed forces or for the armed forces. So, we integrated curriculum and service in the educational process, which helped very much to bring students back to university life and to increase their motivation. And, at the same time, we are fostering innovation. For the third time, UCU has been recognized as the number one IT university in Ukraine.”
Taras Dobko added that Ukrainian universities today compete for talent not so much with Ukrainian universities as with international universities. “So, our cooperation with partners also aims at keeping talented students and researchers in Ukraine. Universities, like the Church, should be a source of hope and unity. Because unity makes us stronger and helps us survive any trial,” emphasized the rector.
Vice-rector of Ukrainian Catholic University and founding dean of the UCU Business School Sophia Opatska during the forum stated that we are witnesses of a global deficit in the character of leadership and critical thinking in various areas, from corporate boards to global politics. “Today we see global chaos in geopolitical, defense, and economic systems. Old models no longer work in the reality of constant uncertainty. The role of the university is now more important than ever before. Our task is to think through the chaos, to give meaning and ensure that truth remains the basis of a free society.”
Participants of the Ukraine Impact Forum- Faith & Resilience at the University of Notre Dame
The vice-rector emphasized that Ukraine is not only a field of war but a place of solidarity, social change, technological innovations, and a place of renewal. “Ukraine not only receives help from its partners, for which we are sincerely grateful. We also are bearers of unique knowledge about resilience: both in theoretical and also practical areas. Our leadership models have gone back to basics: care, courage, presence. For tragic reasons, Ukraine has become one of the most technologically developed countries.”
Sophia Opatska during her speech at the Ukraine Impact Forum at the University of Notre Dame
Sophia Opatska thanked the University of Notre Dame for cooperation which for many years has been an example of the strength of academic solidarity: “Our common goal is clear: to transform research and politics, and ideas into actions. The lessons which are being learned in Ukraine go far beyond its boundaries. They are a compass for the world, which more and more is living in conditions of systemic instability.”
Also representing UCU at the forum in the USA were: Senior Vice-Rector Yaroslav Prytula, Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty Volodymyr Turchynovskyy, Assistant Professor of UCU’s Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy Iryna Semkiv, and Professor and Scholarly Researcher at the Institute of Church History Anatolii Babynskyi.
Part of the forum was a presentation of joint research projects which scholars from the University of Notre Dame and UCU have been working on for a number of years.
Thanks to the generous financial support of Notre Dame’s research department (ND Research), grants provide an opportunity to finance large-scale research projects, in particular those involving such relevant themes as: ethical infrastructure and leadership for lasting democracies, data science for the common good, religious freedom, collective trauma and collective healing, mental health for veterans, and also the moral and religious dimension of security.
The results of the following joint research projects were presented at the forum:
- “Exploring the Built Environment to Understand Collective Trauma and the Potential of Community-Based Collective Healing in Ukraine” with Rahul Oka (Notre Dame) and Iryna Semkiv (UCU)
- “A Moral Biography of Ukraine” with Clemens Sedmak (Notre Dame) and Volodymyr Turchynovskyy (UCU)
- “AI, Data, Society and Innovation During the War” with Nitesh Chawla (Notre Dame) and Yaroslav Prytula (UCU)
- “Religion, Religious Diplomacy, and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” with Yury Avvakumov (Notre Dame) and Anatolii Babynskyi (UCU)
We thank our partner of many years, the University of Notre Dame, and in particular the divisions which joined in organizing the event:
