Strengthening Ukraine: Sharing knowledge for a sustainable future
Information
OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University – Pilestredet 46 – 30 November 2023
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Russia’s war has brought enormous human suffering, large-scale destruction of places and infrastructure, and massive environmental damage to Ukraine. Several million Ukrainians have had to flee their country, and many of them seek shelter in the Nordic and Baltic states, with uncertain prospects. Although the war is still ongoing, rebuilding of liberated territories and destroyed houses and infrastructure all over Ukraine has commenced. The estimated costs of reconstruction are higher than 2.6 times Ukraine’s entire 2022 GDP. Russia’s warfare has made Ukraine the most mined country in the world, with severe consequences for people’s health, economic activity and the environment. The Nordic and Baltic countries may help Ukraine to emerge stronger from the reconstruction process.
On 30 November 2023, the Nordic-Baltic knowledge-based input network to the rebuilding of Ukraine, HROMADA, invites you to a half-day conference in Oslo on how research may contribute to the strengthening and sustainable development of Ukraine. We aim to kick off a dialogue with decision-makers and business representatives on how the expertise of researchers may contribute to the rebuilding efforts of public and private actors from the Nordic and Baltic states.
Hromada is the Ukrainian word for “community” and the HROMADA network consists of researchers based at universities, research institutions and think tanks in the Baltic and the Nordic countries with specific expertise on Ukraine. HROMADA is supported by NordForsk.
We have invited politicians and decision makers, researchers and experts from Nordic and Baltic countries and Ukraine to discuss topics of the utmost importance for the future of Ukraine – our future. We hope to see you there!
More information can be found under Programme. An updated programme including confirmed speakers is available on the HROMADA website.
Should you have any questions about the conference, please send an e-mail to: conference-nibr@oslomet.no
Go to the registration for physical participation.
For online participation, please follow the link provided on the HROMADA website.
Registration (only for physical participation)
Please note:
You can still register for the conferance, but the deadline for ordering food has passed, so
your participation will not include lunch or dinner.
Information
Activity is finished and you can no longer register.
Strengthening Ukraine: Sharing knowledge for a sustainable future
OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University – Pilestredet 46 – 30 November 2023
11:30-12:30 Lunch (optional, self-payed at the time of registration)
12:30-13:30 Welcome and introductory speeches
13:45-14:45 Panel I: Building Back Better: How Nordic and Baltic countries can support Ukraine’s sustainable rebuilding
The full-scale Russian invasion has inflicted extensive direct and indirect environmental damage upon Ukraine’s ecosystem, its fertile soil, and water resources. Drawing on decades of experience in environmental protection and regional cooperation on environmental and climate issues, Nordic and Baltic countries possess valuable knowledge that can aid in Ukraine’s sustainable rebuilding. The panel aims to assess the damage of the war and explore strategies that Nordic and Baltic countries can employ to contribute to Ukraine’s sustainable rebuilding. What lessons from Nordic and Baltic experiences can Ukraine benefit from? What should be the primary objectives of sustainable rebuilding efforts? Who should be the key stakeholders in this process?
15:05-16:05 Panel II: Ukrainian refugees in the Nordic and Baltic countries: Integration dilemmas
According to UNHCR, almost 6 million Ukrainian refugees had been registered in Europe by the end of August 2023, with large numbers of them seeking protection in the Nordic and Baltic countries. While all these countries have granted collective protection to Ukrainian refugees – a status that allows Ukrainians to stay and work for a limited period – their integration policies vary significantly. As Russia’s war has become a protracted one, questions about the possibility of returning to Ukraine some time in the future arise. What are the policy rationales currently shaping policies towards Ukrainian refugees in the Nordic and Baltic countries? How do they solve the integration dilemmas of this group? And how do Ukrainian authorities respond to a potential loss of a large share of the population remaining abroad after the war when human resources will be needed for rebuilding the country?
16:25-17:25 Panel III: War crimes; How securing justice for Ukraine contributes to the rebuilding process
Ensuring justice to the victims of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine and their families is an essential matter for the post-war rebuilding of Ukraine. Though Russia’s war against Ukraine is the world’s most documented war, it will take time and a lot of effort to prosecute all war criminals, especially those currently in power. Legal and procedural challenges are aggravated by the politicization of everything related to the war and the making of the post-war European order. In this light, the panel will discuss: (i) practices and challenges of documenting and investigating Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine; (ii) international cooperation and public-private interactions in the investigations of war crimes; (iii) the role of international courts in (re)building justice for Ukraine and (iv) the potential support of Nordic and Baltic states and organizations.
17:30 End of the conference
19:00 Conference Dinner (optional, self-payed at the time of registration)
For updates of the conference programme, please visit: https://hromada.network/events/oslo-conference/