Tell me about your experience of the conflict in Ukraine. How did it motivate you to get involved in dialogue facilitation?

The first events in Ukraine started to unfold in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. At that time, a lot of people from the east of Ukraine, in places like Donetsk and Luhansk, started to move west towards Kyiv. That was the moment I felt the need to do something. I was a teacher at the time. I really enjoyed the profession. But our country wasn’t so much as falling apart as it was in the process of slowly burning.

So, I established my own NGO, which I called Youth for Global Progress. When I think about it now, it’s a very funny name. We started to help internally displaced persons moving from the occupied territories to the rest of Ukraine. My goal was to help people adapt to their new lives and aid their mental state. This piqued my interest in peace building. That’s when I got involved in a UN programme where I learnt how to be a dialogue facilitator. I started practising dialogue facilitation and mediation within the communities. Slowly but surely, I was working across the world. I went to the MENA region, and I studied in the United Kingdom and Latvia.

In 2021, I returned to Ukraine to start a job at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). I began working there before the full-scale invasion started in 2022. I remember waking up in Kyiv on the first day of the war, as did many of my compatriots, to the sound of explosions. I looked outside the window at 5am and saw the street full of cars trying to leave the capital. A building next to ours was impacted by a rocket on the third day of the war, as was my son’s school.

I realised it was no longer safe to stay in Kyiv so we decided to evacuate the city. But I’m someone who finds something good even in the midst of chaos and war. I started thinking about how I could use my skills and knowledge as a dialogue facilitator to engage with people. That’s when I started working with vulnerable communities and people impacted by the war. By teaching young people dialogue facilitation skills, we can help them to solve the conflict in a peaceful way and prepare the foundations for peace right now. This is where I currently am at this point in time.

Why is dialogue facilitation so important and what does it involve?

We tend to look at dialogue from two perspectives. Firstly, dialogue can be used as a tool to solve conflicts. For example, let’s say a group of people who cannot cross a checkpoint. Dialogue facilitation can help them negotiate and get safe passage. They have a conversation and they’re able to do that.

Another aspect of dialogue facilitation is transformational. This is where we can transform people’s perspectives. Those who enter dialogue develop an ability and willingness to listen. They are able to transform themselves by looking deeper within and understanding how their identity works. It’s a powerful tool for solving conflicts.

I also work outside of Ukraine. This spring I was in Uganda working with South Sudanese refugees, which for me was very personal because I’m a refugee from Ukraine and they are also refugees, but in a slightly different context. We were teaching them how to use dialogue as a way to solve issues  with their host communities. Even being able to come together as different nationalities, different people and to hold a dialogue space is already very rewarding and very good for the community. The power of dialogue is exceptional.

What are you currently doing?

Currently, I’m engaged with the Peace Building, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR). I also work with a number of other international NGOs. I write research on dialogue. It’s fascinating and interesting how dialogue works in many different contexts. I have a number of different hats on, but my main organisation is PATRIR.

How can someone interested in dialogue facilitation support the peacebuilding effort in Ukraine?

Dialogue is a very sensitive topic. You have to be very careful. When you talk to Ukrainians about dialogue or peacebuilding, many are naturally skeptical. What we focus on right now is raising awareness about how it works and use it within our own communities. Despite people’s perception of being a unified nation with strong levels of solidarity, Ukraine is still a polarised society. Some people speak Russian, others speak Ukrainian. Some people left the country, others stayed. We want to use dialogue to unite people and work together on the national idea of Ukraine. Because our idea cannot just be based on hatred. We need to find other ways to sustain ourselves as a nation.

How can our readers in Luxembourg get involved?

While I was in Luxembourg, I was surprised to learn there is a large number of Ukrainians living in the country. I think many also moved because of the war. This is a powerful community that could be, and should be, engaging with one another. They can raise awareness and organise spaces where people can talk about trauma from the war experiences. This already is a huge step towards peace building. Just allowing people to talk about what they went through and to build connections with the community that has accepted them.