Idea
Re:Open Zakarpattia – Re:Open Ukraine
Forum of ideas and solutions for victory, peace, rule of law and the EU
Re:Open Zakarpattia is a forum of ideas and solutions for the development of the Zakarpattia region as a multicultural frontier and a bridge of Ukraine to the EU and NATO.
The forum is an independent discussion platform for all actors who develop, influence or take decisions at the local, national and international levels. Re:Open Zakarpattia is initiated and held by the NGO “Institute for Central European Strategy” in partnership with representatives of civil society, state authorities, international partners and businesses.
What is this forum for?
In 2024, the forum will be held for the fifth time in a row. Over the past 4 years, leading Ukrainian and foreign politicians, entrepreneurs, public intellectuals, experts, diplomats, heads of regions and city mayors, military servicemen, volunteers, ecologists, journalists have participated in the forum, in particular, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna, former Ukrainian Ministers Dmytro Kuleba, Pavlo Klimkin and Pavlo Sheremeta, Members of the European Parliament Michael Gahler, Viola von Cramon-Taubadel and Andryus Kubilius.
We believe in the power of contextual and interdisciplinary discussions that cover topics of local, national and international importance.
The focus of Re:Open Zakarpattia 2024 will be on reforms that are critical for Ukraine to ensure resilience during the war and simultaneous integration into the EU, and the role of Zakarpattia as a pilot region in implementing and multiplying these reforms in Ukraine. These are primarily the rule of law, good governance, national minority rights, social cohesion, integration of IDPs and veterans, mental health, demography, good neighborliness and security in Central Europe.
The Institute for Central European Strategy (ICES) is a non-governmental organization founded in 2019 that functions as a “think tank” and “do tank”.
ICES implements projects in the fields of analytics, education, media development, countering disinformation and hybrid threats, rule of law, local government, cross-border cooperation, reform advocacy, geopolitics, cultural and expert diplomacy, etc. The institute operates simultaneously at local and regional, national and international levels.
Institute aims at conceptualizing and advocating Ukraine’s new strategy in Central Europe that would bring about the consolidation of this geopolitical region and the country’s integration into the transatlantic community.
ICES is a founder and organizer of such forums as Re:Open Zakarpattia and Dialogues on Europe, initiative Re:Open Ukraine (which covers Transcarpathia, Bukovyna and Odesa regions, as well as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania), providing institutional development of such media outlets as Varosh and Infopost.
Speakers
Program
Registration of participants and welcome coffee
Official opening of the 6th Re:Open Zakarpattia forum
Speaker and host of the event: Rosana Tuzhanska, co-founder of Varosh media, programme director of Re:open Zakarpattia
Keynote speech
Speaker: Viktor Troshki, scientist and artilleryman of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade
Keynote speech
Speaker: Vitaly Portnikov, journalist, publicist, writer, television presenter
Presentation of the results of research conducted by ICES and the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation
Speakers:
- Oleksiy Haran, research advisor at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, professor of political science at NaUKMA
- Polina Bondarenko, sociologist at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation
Moderator: Oleksiy Tarasov, Editor-in-Chief, Radio NV
Commentators:
- Mykola Syusko, Deputy Head of Regional Activities, U-LEAD
- Zoltan Babiak, Mayor of Berehove
- Iryna Matsapura, Director, Limited Liability Company ‘VGSM’
Panel discussion No. 1. How to keep Ukraine: demographics, human capital, migration
Speakers:
- Ella Libanova, Director of the M.V. Ptukha Institute of Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
- Hanna Novosad, co-founder of the savED charitable foundation
- Vasyl Khudynets, Head of the Kolochava Community
- Oleksandr Shershun, Military Serviceman
Moderator: Galina Gychka, Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Varosh Media
Keynote speech
Speaker: Viktor Mykyta, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine
Open discussion following the speech.
Moderator: Rosana Tuzhanska
Lunch, Iris Restaurant
Hardtalk with Myroslav Biletsky, Head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration, and Roman Saray, Head of the Transcarpathian Regional Council
Moderator: Tetiana Kogutych, journalist at Ukrinform
Keynote speech “Integrity, prosperity, EU”
Alle Dorhout, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ukraine
Panel discussion No. 2. Good governance and integrity: key conditions for regional development and EU integration
Speakers:
- Thomas Birringer, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Representative Office in Ukraine
- Sonja Ledl-Rossmann, President of the Tyrolean Parliament
- Ruslana Naturkach, Head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration
- Frans Geraerts, co-founder of Governance and Integrity (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Volodymyr Hnatkivsky, Manager of the Executive Office of the Transcarpathian Regional Council
- Hanna Fazikos, Chair of the Transcarpathian Court of Appeal
Moderator: Pavlo Velychko, military officer
Commentators:
- Vasyl Khymynets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria
- Fedir Shandor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Hungary
Panel discussion No. 3. Trusted media: how community becomes a source of resilience
Speakers:
- Gaigiz Geldiyev, co-founder of Jnomics
- Daryna Shevchenko, CEO The Kyiv Independent
- Mick Reed, MiMojo (USA)
- Vörös Szabolcs, Válasz Online (Hungary)
- Lyubov Rakovytsia, Donbas Media Forum
Moderator: Rosana Tuzhanska, co-founder of Varosh
Panel discussion No. 4. Relocation and integrity: how business is changing Ukraine’s economic map
Speakers:
- Vitaliy Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
- Roman Vashchuk, Business Ombudsman in Ukraine
- Walter Peer, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Tyrol
- Vasyl Ivancho, First Deputy Head of the Regional State Administration
- Natalia Pukhshyn, Founder of Blue Berry Berry Farm, President of the Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association
Moderator: Iryna Matsapura, Director of VGS Limited Liability Company
Keynote speech summarising the day: How Zakarpattia has jumped into integrity: from the precedent to the role model
Frans Geraerts, co-founder of Governance and Integrity (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Dinner, Iris Restaurant
Registration of participants and welcome coffee
Follow-up on the previous day and announcement of the second day of the forum
Speaker and host of the event: Rosana Tuzhanska, co-founder of Varosh media, programme director of Re:open Zakarpattia
A series of solo speeches, ‘Stories of Resilience, Victory, and Challenges’
- ‘Vuyko Eco’: How veterans Vuyko, Gruzin, and Director started a craft business in Zakarpattia.
Speakers: Vasyl Popryk, Vladyslav Opalenyk, Viktor Sulima - How to turn Zakarpattia into a centre of medical innovation. The experience of Biopharma Plasma.
Speaker: Oksana Mulyarchuk - Philanthropy as a way of life: why helping others is the best investment in the future.
Speaker: Adam Kharlamovich - How the community of Dovhe is creating a centre for co-creation.
Speaker: Galina Levko - How the ‘Shepherd’s Farm’ in Synevyrska Polyana became an example of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Speaker: Ivan Yats’ko - A soldier’s dream come true thanks to his wife: the story of how Greenkova was created.
Speaker: Kristina Dankanych - Twin cities as bridges to the EU: Chernivtsi’s experience in building partnerships.
Speaker: Serhiy Bostan, Director of the Department of Socio-Economic Development and Strategic Planning of the Chernivtsi City Council - Drones, thermal imagers and equipment: how three Hungarians founded the Transcarpathian Dragon Feeder (Kárpátaljai Sárkányellátó).
Speaker: Mihai Olah
Panel discussion No. 5. Rights of national minorities and inter-state relations: dialogue instead of pressure
Speakers:
- Igor Losovsky, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience
- Maria Kesler, primary school teacher teaching in Hungarian at Yasinya Secondary School No. 1
- Judita Petei, member of the regional council from the Transcarpathian regional organisation of the KMKS Party of Hungarians in Ukraine
- Yulia Hrytsku, Member of the Chernivtsi Regional Council, Senior Project Manager, Head of Content and Public-Private Partnership at the Recovery and Reform Support Team at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
- Zoltan Babiak, Mayor of Berehove Community
- Oleksandr Ilkov, Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (online)
Commentators:
- Csilla Fedinec, Senior Research Fellow Centre for Social Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)
- Laszlo Zubanych, PhD in History, Associate Professor, Chairman of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Ukraine
- Volodymyr Keniz, Director of the Berehove Lyceum ‘Platan’
Moderator: Vitaliy Dyachuk, Analyst at the Institute for Central European Strategy, Editor-in-Chief of Infopost
Keynote speech by Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine
Lunch, Iris Restaurant
Panel discussion No. 6. Care infrastructure: the role of civil society in restoring mental health
Speakers:
- Markus Lux, Vice President, Special Unit for Ukraine, Robert Bosch Foundation
- Valeria Tatarchuk, Executive Director and Founder of the Tvoia Opora Charitable Foundation
- Ella Musaeva, Member of the Institute of Psychosomatics and Trauma Therapy
- Anna Sokolenko, Expert, Coordination Centre for Mental Health, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
- Natalia Kabatsiy, Head, Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattia
Moderator: Kateryna Trushyk, journalist, TV presenter, evidence-based medicine advocate
Hardtalk “The military, the rear and society: the architecture of resilience”
Speakers:
- Yuriy Havrylyshyn, Head of the Personnel Recruitment Department of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”
- Viktoria Kovach, Head of the Medical Department of the 3rd Army Corps
- Vakhtang Kipiani, historian, serviceman of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine ‘Charter’
Moderator: Solomiya Bobrovska, Member of Parliament of Ukraine
Commentator:
- Klara Lindström, Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS)
Panel discussion No. 7. Central Europe as a space of solidarity and good neighbourliness: what next?
Speakers:
- Vitaly Portnikov, journalist, publicist, writer, TV presenter (UA)
- Edwin Bendyk, journalist, publicist, head of the Stefan Batory Foundation (PL)
- Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of Parliament of Ukraine (UA)
- Csilla Fedinec, Senior Research Fellow Centre for Social Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)
- Klara Lindström, Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS)
Moderator: Andriy Lyubka, Director of the Institute for Central European Strategy
Panel discussion No. 8. From forests to windmills: ecology and sustainable development – is a healthy balance possible?
Speakers:
- Petro Testov, forestry expert, Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group
- Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of Parliament of Ukraine
- Marine Abrahamyan, Greenpeace green energy campaign coordinator
- Petro Kostyak, head of the Ust-Chorna community
- Ivan Pogorilyak, Mayor of Perechyn
Moderator: Tetiana Kogutych, journalist, Ukrinform
Summary of the day:
Speakers:
- Oleksiy Tarasov, editor-in-chief of Radio NV
- Khrystyna Boiko, director of the ZMIN Foundation
- Csilla Fedinec, Senior Research Fellow Centre for Social Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)
Moderator: Rosana Tuzhansky, co-founder of Varosh media, programme director of Re:open Zakarpattia
Official closing of the forum and “family photo”
Speaker: Andriy Lyubka, Director of the Institute for Central European Strategy
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