USUST joins All-Ukrainian Conference on Decolonization

On April 30 – May 1, 2026, the All-Ukrainian Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Conference ‘UA: Decolonization – rethinking the past, creating the future’ was held in Dnipro. The event was implemented through a partnership between the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Dnipro City Council, the Maria Pinchuk Foundation, and the youth network ‘Khvylia’. The conference was initiated and organized by the team of the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Foreign Languages of the SEI ‘PSACEA’ (headed by Olesia Barannyk, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor).  The event brought together researchers, lecturers, students, postgraduate and doctoral students, representatives of government, business, and the public sector from across Ukraine.

Opening the conference, Deputy Mayor Andrii Denysenko emphasized the significance of decolonization processes for contemporary Ukrainian society. He noted that ‘for Dnipro liberation from the sociocultural influence of both the Soviet and imperial Russian empires is a matter of mental health and historical survival, as  for Ukraine as a whole. He stressed that, while correcting historical injustices inflicted by Moscow, Ukrainians are also laying the foundations of statehood: the Armed Forces of Ukraine defend on the frontline Ukrainian identity, historical memory, and the spirit of the nation in the rear. In Dnipro practices of decolonization are at the community level’.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Kostiantyn Sukhyi, rector of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, highlighted the importance of national identity during the war and in the process of post-war recovery. He emphasized that ‘rethinking the Soviet past is a key factor in the future reconstruction of Ukraine and in understanding Ukraine’s role as a centre of industry and the free world’.

Maria Pinchuk-Vzhezhevska, founder of the ‘Maria Pinchuk Foundation’, emphasized the formation of new meanings of decolonization, the development of collective memory, and the preservation of cultural heritage. She noted that the conference was being held now, rather than after the war, because currently Ukrainians are shaping their future and the legacy to be passed on to the next generations.

The conference attracted considerable interest: 167 applications for participation were submitted, and the total number of participants exceeded 200. The geography of the event covered almost all of Ukraine, including Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Kamianske, Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Lviv, Lutsk, Mykolaiv, Nizhyn, Odesa, Poltava, Pereiaslav, Rivne, Kharkiv, Uman, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and other cities. Scholars from European countries, including Hungary, also joined the discussions.

On the first day, held in a blended format, offline at Menorah Center and online, the participants attended 36 presentations and were engaged in six hours of active discussion during the plenary and sectional sessions. The plenary presentations drew particular attention, including A. Malyi’s report ‘Memorialization in Ukraine: experience, challenges, prospects’ and D. Bila’s presentation ‘Inclusive practices in memorialization: the case of the Dnipro community’.
 
The plenary session was summarized by Halyna Petrivna Yevsieieva, Doctor of Sciences in Public Administration, Professor, Vice-Rector for Academic, Student and Humanitarian Affairs at USUST, woth her  report titled ‘Key challenges of the decolonization process and prospects for shaping Ukrainian resilience’.
The second day of the conference, held online on May 1, 2026, was dedicated to sectional discussions. The participants continued their work on current issues of decolonization, focusing on an interdisciplinary approach and practical aspects of social transformation.
 
The conference demonstrated a high level of interest among scholars and educators in decolonization as one of the key areas of humanitarian policy in contemporary Ukraine. Participants emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue, which makes it possible to comprehensively rethink historical processes, develop new approaches to preserving cultural heritage, and strengthen national identity.
 
As a result of the conference, a number of current challenges and prospects were outlined, including the need to further develop research, implement practical solutions at the community level, and strengthen cooperation between educational, academic, and civil society institutions.
 
The organizers emphasized that such events are very important for sharing experience, generating new ideas, and consolidating efforts in the process of rethinking the past and shaping Ukraine’s future.

More photos are available via the link