Oxford Ukraine Hub Workshop 1: Ukrainian Environmentalisms: Perspectives from Science, Policy, and Culture
This is the first in a series of workshops open to the public hosted by the Oxford Ukraine Hub.
Ukraine is home to a diverse range of environments, including the richly biodiverse wetlands of Polissya in the north, the expansive grassland steppe in the south and east, and lowland forests and alpine meadows in the Carpathians to the west. The country is commonly known as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’ due to its agricultural productivity, but is also a country scarred by imperial forms of extractivism, as well as the site of world’s worst nuclear catastrophe (Chornobyl) that has an unending toxic legacy.
The ongoing war has deepened the complexity of Ukraine’s environmental challenges. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 23 national parks and nature reserves are under Russian occupation; almost a third of Ukraine’s forests have been ravaged by war; one third of the country is mined; and over 800 animal species are threatened, with over 80 on the verge of extinction. Global reliance on environmentally-destructive Russian oil and gas has prevented the international community from fully isolating Russia and supporting Ukraine to reclaim all its occupied territories. Ukrainians, meanwhile, have shown immense resilience, amidst which, deep-rooted connections to land and landscape have begun to re-emerge.
This seminar—Ukrainian Environmentalisms: Perspectives from Science, Culture, and Policy—brings together four distinguished speakers from diverse backgrounds, including art history, cultural geography, environmental science, and environmental law, to reflect on the most pressing issues and intriguing questions related to the environment and ecology in Ukraine. The event is divided into two panels. The first, on science and policy, will involve discussions of climate change, energy policy, and green reconstruction. The second, on the Ukrainian environmental humanities, explores Ukrainian agriculture from a cultural geographic perspective and dives into representations of nature in Ukrainian art.
We are honoured to be joined by Svitlana Krakovska, Anna Ackermann, Oksana Semenik, and Iryna Zamuruieva as speakers, and Karolina Uskakovych, who will screen and discuss her award-winning film “Boots on the Ground, Hands in the Soil”. Alexander Vorbrugg and Vlad Mykhnenko will join us as discussants. There will be a photo exhibition from Daria Svertilova accompanying the event.
The schedule for the event is as follows:
10am: coffee & introduction from the Oxford Ukraine Hub team
10.30am: panel 1: science and policy
12.30pm: break for lunch lunch
1.30pm: panel 2: environmental humanities
330pm: coffee break
4pm: film screening and discussion: Boots on the Soil, Hands in the Ground (2023)
5pm: closing remarks and drinks reception
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
Date:
31 January 2025, 9:30
Venue:
St Cross Building, St Cross Road OX1 3UR
Venue Details:
The White & Case Lecture Room
Speaker: Various Speakers
Organisers:
Dr Jonathon Turnbull (University of Oxford),
Ievgeniia Kopytsia (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
jonathon.turnbull@ouce.ox.ac.uk
Hosts:
Dr Jonathon Turnbull (University of Oxford),
Yevhen Yashchuk (University of Oxford),
Dr Panayiotis Xenophontos,
Ievgeniia Kopytsia (University of Oxford),
Dr Zbigniew Wojnowski (St Antony's College),
Dr Marnie Howlett (DPIR, University of Oxford)
Booking required?:
Recommended
Booking url:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukrainian-environmentalisms-tickets-1147876753269?aff=oddtdtcreator
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Marnie Howlett
