Panel:
YEVGENIA BELORUSETS, artist, author and photographer, Kiev/Kyiv
GUDRUN GUSEL, manager of Foreign Aid Caritas, Vienna
ROMAN KOVAL, mediator, director of the Institute for Peace and Common Ground, Kiev/Kyiv
OLIVER VUJOVIĆ, journalist, general secretary of SEEMO (South East Europe Media Organisation), Vienna
Moderation
HANNES SWOBODA, MEP ret., president of the International Institute for Peace, Vienna
The Austrian PLATFORM FOR DIALOGUE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN UKRAINE is an independent alliance committed to a large number of dialogue supporting initiatives in Ukraine. They are to be implemented in 2017 with a view to long-term effects. The panel envisaged and show existing and future possibilities for dialogue and conflict resolution in Ukraine.
Mission statement
Dialogue initiatives offer perspectives for reconciliation in Ukraine. Dialogue therefore serves as a precondition for the (re-)establishment of an inclusive Ukrainian society and creates opportunities for mutual respectful cooperation between the people concerned.
The Platform for Dialogue and Conflict Resolution is providing a neutral space for different actors within and outside Ukraine to improve relationships, to discuss their experiences and perceptions, to dismantle hostile images, to promote mutual understanding and solidarity and to consolidate a potential process of reconciliation as well as to identify possible channels for cooperation across conflict divides.
The platform – established in Austria – wants to take the opportunity of the Austrian OSCE chairmanship, which is accompanied by increased international attention, to promote a necessary re-focus on the situation in Ukraine, its (long-term) impact on its population and the whole region, to promote a wider understanding of the armed conflict in Ukraine, its background and possible future, and to support people trying to overcome division and hatred through peaceful means. The platform intends to facilitate, support and provide an acceptable, diverse and respectful framework for fruitful discussions. Its aim is to make a difference through appreciative cooperation.
