Revisit the live-streamed ValEUs Civil Society Debate: “EU Foreign Policy, Democratic Resilience, and Citizen Participation in Wartime Ukraine”, hosted by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) on 13 May 2026. The recording is now available as part of our Civil Society Debates series.
This ValEUs Civil Society Debate explored the evolving relationship between EU values and their practical application within Ukraine’s wartime environment. Bringing together scholars, civil society representatives, and reform experts, the discussion examined the challenges of maintaining democratic resilience under the conditions of martial law and reflected on the role of civic participation in shaping both Ukraine’s development and the European Union’s engagement with the country.
The debate opened with insights from the recently concluded Horizon Europe project “Reconfiguring EU Democracy Support (REDEMOS)”. Ivan Gomza and Maryna Rabinovych discussed the contestation of ‘European’ values and EU Foreign Policy in Ukraine, including the tensions many Ukrainians perceive between EU declarations and their practical implementation.
The panel discussion then turned to the practical dimensions of democratic resilience in wartime. Participants reflected on how core democratic values can be upheld when formal institutions operate under extraordinary pressures, and how civil society actors contribute to safeguarding democratic governance. The discussion also highlighted the policy influence of civic participation on EU strategic decisions towards Ukraine, emphasizing a process of mutual transformation in which Ukrainian grassroots activism not only strengthens support for Ukraine but also encourages the European Union to reassess and refine its own foundational values.
Kostyantyn Kyrychenko
Welcoming Remarks
Vice-Rector for International Affairs, KSE (© Kyiv School of Economics)
Ivan Gomza
Moderator & Speaker
Professor of Political Science at Kyiv School of Economics, Swedish Distinguished Professor (© Kyiv School of Economics)
Maryna Rabinovych
Speaker
Assistant Professor at the Social Sciences Department, KSE (© Kyiv School of Economics)
Serhii Zamidra
Speaker
All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, First Deputy Head (© Serhii Zamidra)
Vladyslav Faraponov
Speaker
NGO “Institute of American Studies”, Editor-in-Chief of “The Gaze” online portal (© Vladyslav Faraponov)
Yuliia Shaipova
Speaker
Reform Support Team at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine (© Yuliia Shaipova)
Oleksandra Keudel
Closing Remarks
Founding Director of the Center for Democratic Resilience at the Kyiv School of Economics (© Kyiv School of Economics)
Oleksandr Starodubtsev
Speaker
Head of the Spromozhnist Program, Mnozhyna Foundation (© Mnozhyna Foundation)
Dmytro Iarovyi
Closing Remarks
Assistant Professor at the Social Sciences Department, KSE (© Kyiv School of Economics)
ValEUs Civil Society Debates
The ValEUs Project has organised a series of panel discussions with civil society organisations discussing European values and EU foreign policy, engaging a global audience (live stream) and local participants in the US, Poland, Mexico, Morocco and Ukraine. NGO’s, social movements, citizen organisations and activists are invited to share their thoughts about climate change, democracy, trade agreements, colonialism, and conflict. In these debates, contestations and ambivalences of European foreign policy are exposed, allowing for the exploration of new avenues to counteract these contestations and ambivalences.
