The first Ukrainian-Polish debate took place at the university’s International Student Youth Meeting Centre in Mykulychyn, and it was not just an exchange of views, but a real platform for creating a new quality of Ukrainian-Polish dialogue.
The participants of the debates were students and young scholars from Ukraine and Poland, including winners of the prestigious Jerzy Giedroyć Competition, representatives of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, The National University of Ostroh Academy, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, and representatives of the University of Warsaw. The young people had a unique opportunity to ask the high-ranking officials – poignant and relevant questions – Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi and Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Sheptytskyi. They discussed the future of bilateral relations, the challenges of educational cooperation, and shared responsibility for memory and prospects.
The debate culminated in a frank and dynamic conversation with Paweł Kowal, Chairman of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee and Polish Government Commissioner for Ukraine’s reconstruction. He shared with the youth his vision of key areas of cooperation, in particular in the context of the post-war reconstruction of our country.
Among the topics of greatest interest were historical memory, the role of the younger generation in shaping the modern European partnership, intellectual leadership, and the responsibility of young people for a value-based future.