On October 30, 2025, the official opening of the large-scale research project «Jewish Heritage in Ukraine: Interdisciplinary Reflections through the Prism of Archival Documents, Culture, History, and Literature» took place at the NaUKMA Museum.
The project is being implemented by the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy with the support of UNESCO and the European Union. The project aims to explore and examine Jewish heritage in Ukraine through the perspective of different academic disciplines and to create a comprehensive understanding of its contribution to the country's multicultural history. This will be achieved, in particular, through broader public outreach and the promotion of academic discourse in this field by focusing on archival sources, literature, history, and culture. In particular, the project seeks to contribute to the preservation of historical memory and to the development of interdisciplinary dialogue.
The audience was welcomed by Serhiy Kvit, President of NaUKMA, Albertina Pieterbarg, Programme Coordinator of the Communication and Information Sector at the UNESCO Office in Ukraine; Olesya Ostrovska-Liuta, NaUKMA alumna and Director General of Mystetskyi Arsenal; and Olha Poliukhovych, Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs at NaUKMA, as well as the project’s Head and Academic Director.
«This project is important not only for the preservation of archives. It is about restoring the voices and stories of people who lived in Ukraine and were part of its culture and historical memory. For decades, Jewish history and culture in Ukraine remained silenced, and today we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to rediscover them openly, with honesty and respect. For UNESCO, supporting this project is therefore not only about heritage, but also about peace, mutual understanding, and rebuilding trust between cultures» Ms. Albertina Pieterbarg noted in her speech.
Following the presentation of the project, and as part of its official launch, the first thematic roundtable discussion, «Jewish Discourse in Ukrainian Culture: Paradoxes of Memory» was held. The event was organized by the Literary Heritage Research Group of the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literature. The roundtable was moderated by Roman Veretelnyk, PhD in Philology and Head of the Department of Literature. The expert discussion also featured Iryna Borysiuk, Coordinator of the Literary Heritage Research Group; Olha Poliukhovych, Project Head and Academic Director; and project researchers Rostyslav Semkiv and Marharyta Yehorchenko.
The participants of the roundtable addressed issues of historical memory, the interaction of cultural narratives, and the transformation of identity within Ukrainian and Jewish cultural traditions. They also drew interesting parallels with post-war Jewish American and Jewish Canadian literature. The event marked the beginning of a series of thematic meetings aimed at deepening the understanding of the Jewish experience within Ukrainian cultural consciousness. It attracted considerable interest and received positive feedback from experts, partners, and the wider public.
Project Head and Academic Director Olha Poliukhovych and Marta Farion, President of the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America, shared their impressions of the event:
Olha Poliukhovych: «We are delighted by the official launch of this important interdisciplinary project and deeply grateful for the incredible support of our partners, colleagues, and donors. These are the first public events within the framework of our joint project with UNESCO, yet they have already demonstrated how important and timely public discussions of Jewish cultural heritage in Ukraine are. The first roundtable discussion, «Jewish Discourse in Ukrainian Culture: Paradoxes of Memory» organized by the project’s Literary Heritage Research Group, highlighted a wide range of pressing issues related to the formation of memory in the context of Jewish and Ukrainian studies, the strengthening of Ukraines agency, and the study of Jewish heritage both within Ukraine and beyond its borders. The event generated genuine interest in a shared discussion of important topics among members of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy community, scholars, students, alumni, cultural figures, representatives of UNESCO, embassies, and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s international partners».
Marta Farion: «I was delighted to listen to the discussion during the roundtable and especially grateful that it was conducted in English, which made it accessible to an international audience as well. Jews and Ukrainians have lived side by side in Ukraine for more than a thousand years—often in peaceful coexistence, through intermarriage and neighbourly relations, but also during periods marked by violence. At one time, Ukraine had the largest Jewish population in the entire Soviet Union. Throughout history, during repeated foreign occupations, deliberate attempts were made to divide these two communities through a strategy of ‘divide and rule.’ This discussion shed light on the long and intertwined history of Jews and Ukrainians, bringing attention to facts that have long been buried beneath the weight of past violence and propaganda. I congratulate everyone involved and thank you for this important research and for helping to restore a lost narrative».