“All of Us Are the Sources of Truth, Current and Future”: The Work of the First International School of Communications, Spearheaded by the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, Comes to an End

The First International School of Communications “How to Collect War Stories” has come to an end. Those were three full days of fruitful cooperation between Kyiv and Lublin. On the initiative of the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the event was held by Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

Some world-known and Ukrainian historians, sociologists, psychologists, journalists, experts in the field of documenting war experiences and preserving national memory took part in the event, which was both practical and educational in its format. On the final day, the participants of the School’s course received the certificates of course completion.

“History is being happening before our eyes, and all of us are the sources of truth, both current and future. The realization that this historical truth is being shaped instantaneously or live, through the testimony of tens of thousands of people, is extremely compelling. In order to make the documenting and preserving national memory more efficient, the Museum of Civilian Voices spearheads joining efforts with Ukrainian and foreign educational institutions, so that current and future generations could know and preserve the truth about what happened in Ukraine,” emphasized Natalya Yemchenko, Public Relations and Communications Director at System Capital Management and a member of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s Supervisory Board. 

One of the keynote speakers of the School was Peter Pomerantsev, a well-known British journalist, TV producer, and writer, an expert in media and propaganda in modern Russia, professor at the Institute of Global Affairs of the London School of Economics. 

“We want Ukraine not to repeat the mistakes of other countries and to collect evidence of war crimes professionally right from the start. Our goal is to collect it while the war is still going on, so that justice comes faster. It is important to understand how we communicate the truth to the general public. How to reach out to an audience that does not want to hear the truth? Reject the assumption that a loud statement of evidence is enough. We are in a race with propagandists in terms of who understands their audience better. And if you talk only to a small loyal community, nothing will move forward at the legislative level: there will not be enough public and political demand for justice,” the expert noted.

Another keynote speaker in the framework of the event was Serhiy Plokhiy, professor of the Department of Ukrainian History at Harvard University.

“The war has captured me and does not want to let me go. In my new book, I take a clear position, in which I talk about the criminal nature of this war. I gave up on the worldview objectivity. I took the position not of the aggressor, but of the victim of aggression, that is, of Ukraine. And this is a break of the pattern for the profession of the historian, who is usually an observer. I am a Ukrainian, of Ukrainian origin, from Ukraine. How objective is this book? My answer is, “Whether I am Ukrainian or not, in any war of this nature, I cannot imagine the possibility of taking the position of the aggressor, or imagine that the arguments of each of the parties are considered equal,” the historian emphasized. 

The three-day event raised many important and deep topics, which are worth re-visiting time and again.

Follow the news on https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/news

Watch the recordings of the School’s live broadcasts:
12 September – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCIBkwgpZ0E
13 September – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYGTCHpDLyU
14 September – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgt2j1vu1dg

The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation documents testimonies of civilians about the war, told first-hand, and has already collected more than 80,000 real-life stories. To preserve the memory for a better future, share your story on the Museum’s portal https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/ or via the toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001.