Video live stream: Ukraine's New Social Covenant. Part I: Civil Society and Volunteerism
Saturday, April 22, 10:00 a.m. US Eastern Time on YouTube
LIVE FROM KYIV: A Refounding Democracy conversation live on YouTube
Ukraine's New Social Covenant: A 4-part series
Part I: Civil Society and Volunteerism in Ukraine
April 22, 2023, 10:00 a.m. US Eastern Time
Refounding Democracy is a sustained examination of the current authoritarian assault on liberal democracy in the US and worldwide, through the lenses of political philosophy, history, and economics. A central theme is the concept of a social covenant -- the compact, both secular and spiritual, that articulates the commitments members of a polity make to one another, and that thereby binds a nation together.
In a time of crisis, a nation's social covenant can evolve rapidly. Nowhere today shows this process unfolding more vividly than in Ukraine. As the Ukrainian people organize themselves to defend democracy and repel Russia's brutal invasion, a new nation is emerging.
Refounding Democracy is pleased to host a four-part series in which we examine this evolution. Streaming live from Ukraine, co-hosts Athena Small and Peter Lupu are joined by a range of Ukrainian voices to discuss what happening, what it means for Ukraine's future, and what lessons it implies for democracy in the U.S. and worldwide.
The series will examine these changes from four directions:
April 22, Kyiv: Civil society & volunteerism in Ukraine
April 29, Kyiv: Culture - decolonizing the mindset, shifting to Ukrainian language
May 6, Kyiv: Ukraine’s education system
May 13, Lviv: Sex, Gender, and LGBT in the Ukrainian Social Covenant
Part I: Civil society & volunteerism in Ukraine
From the first hours of Russia's invasion on February 24, Ukrainians pulled together in an heroic effort to confront the invasion from a large aggressive neighbor intent on decapitating its government and installing a puppet region. Volunteers defended the capital, evacuated the frail, fed the hungry. These efforts continue to this day, engaging both formal non-governmental organizations and the most grassroots efforts involving neighbors helping neighbors.
In this live stream, we dive in to consider what this spirit of volunteerism tells us about Ukraine's social covenant, how this spirit has changed, and what these changes bode for the nation's future.
How readily do Ukrainians come together spontaneously to provide mutual aid, or to address problems in the public space?
Is there a distinctively ‘Ukrainian style’ of volunteerism or of civil engagement?
How robust is civil society in Ukraine?
What are the historical, cultural roots of civil society in Ukraine?
How has Ukrainian civil society, and attitudes and practices towards volunteerism, changed since Independence (1991)? Since the Revolution of Dignity (2013-2014)? Since the full-scale invasion by Russia (Feb 24, 2022)?
How will these processes will shape Ukrainian society, politics, and the course of the war?
How will these processes will unfold in the future? How they will affect Ukraine’s engagement with the European Union and the West more generally?
Along the way, we look at innovative volunteer activities happening now in Ukraine.
We end by examining what lessons Ukraine's experience hold for the U.S..
Host: Athena Small, Lecturer, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Virginia, USA
Co-host: Peter Lupu, Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Glendale Community College, Glendale, Arizona, USA