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Jewish Heritage in Ukraine - project opening event and First thematic roundtable

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Published on Wednesday, 05 November 2025 15:57

On October 30, the official opening of a big research project “Jewish Heritage in Ukraine: Interdisciplinary Reflections Through the Lenses of Archival Documents, Culture, History and Literature”, implemented by the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy with the support of UNESCO and the European Union took place at the NaUKMA Museum. The project aims to analyze and study the Jewish heritage in Ukraine through the lenses of various subject areas, to create a comprehensive vision of its contribution to the multicultural history of the country, in particular, by means of wider popularization and promotion of research discourse in this field — through archival sources, literature, history and culture. In particular, it is designed to contribute to the preservation of historical memory and the development of an interdisciplinary dialogue.

NaUKMA President Serhiy Kvit, Programme Coordinator, CI Sector, UNESCO Antenna in Ukraine Albertina Piterbarg, NaUKMA Alumni and General Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta, as well as NaUKMA Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs, Head and Academic Director of the Project Olha Poliukhovych addressed the audience with welcoming remarks.

“This project goes beyond the preservation of archives — it is about restoring the voices and stories of people who once lived in Ukraine, who were part of its culture and collective memory. For decades, Jewish history and culture in Ukraine were silenced, and today we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to rediscover them with openness, honesty, and respect. That is why UNESCO’s support for this project is not only about heritage — it is about peace, understanding, and rebuilding trust between cultures,” said Albertina Piterbarg in her speech.

After the presentation of the project, as part of its official opening, the first thematic roundtable “Jewish Discourse in Ukrainian Culture: the Paradoxes of Memory”, organized by the Literary Heritage Research Group of the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literary Studies was held. Roman Veretelnyk, Doctor of Philosophy in Literary Studies and the Head of the Department of Literary Studies was the moderator of the roundtable. The expert discussion was also joined by: Iryna Borysiuk, Coordinator of the Literary Heritage Research Group, Margarita Yehorchenko, Project Senior Researcher, Olha Poliukhovych, Head and Academic Director of the Project, and Rostyslav Semkiv, Project Senior Researcher.

The roundtable participants raised the issues of historical memory, the interaction of cultural narratives, the transformation of identity in Ukrainian and Jewish cultural traditions, as well as drew interesting parallels with Jewish-American and Jewish-Canadian post-war literature. The event commenced a series of thematic meetings designed to deepen an understanding of the Jewish experience in Ukrainian cultural consciousness and aroused considerable interest and positive feedback among the expert community, partners, and the wider public.

Olha Poliukhovych, Head and Academic Director of the Project, and Marta Farion, President of Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America have shared their impressions of the event:

Olha Poliukhovych: "We are extremely pleased with the official opening of this important interdisciplinary project and the incredible support of partners, colleagues, and donors. These are the first public events within the framework of our joint project with UNESCO, but they have already shown how important and timely the discussion of Jewish cultural heritage in Ukraine is. The first roundtable "Jewish Discourse in Ukrainian Culture: the Paradoxes of Memory", organized by the project's literary heritage research group, highlighted a wide range of topical issues related to the formation of memory in the context of Jewish and Ukrainian studies, strengthening the subjectivity of Ukraine, and the study of Jewish heritage in Ukraine and beyond. This event aroused sincere interest in the joint discussion of the important topics among the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy community, scholars, students, alumni, cultural figures, UNESCO representatives, embassies, and international partners of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy".

Marta Farion: “I was delighted to listen to your roundtable discussion and appreciated that it was held in English, allowing it to reach an international audience. Jews and Ukrainians have lived side by side in Ukraine for over a thousand years — often in peaceful coexistence, through intermarriage and neighborly relations, but also during times marked by violence. Ukraine once had the largest Jewish population in the entire Soviet Union. Throughout history, under repeated foreign occupations, there were deliberate provocations aimed at dividing these two communities — a strategy of “divide and conquer.” Your discussion highlighted the long and intertwined history of Jews and Ukrainians, bringing to light facts long buried beneath the weight of past violence and propaganda. Congratulations, and thank you for this essential research and for restoring a missing narrative”.

Event photos — Oleksandra Hlybovets

All public events within the Project are organized with the financial support of the European Union. Their content is the sole responsibility of the partner and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.