The Shevchenko Expertise-a-thon for Ukraine took place via Zoom on April 29th as Russia continued its attack on Ukraine. According to Halyna Hryn, who hosted the event, the Shevchenko Scientific Society has more than 400 members in different scientific fields and all money donated during the event will go towards an emergency fund for Ukraine.
The Shevchenko Expertise-a-thon featured more than 30 different speakers who each gave a short presentation and then answered a few questions. The first speakers talked about volunteering and humanitarian aid.
“If something needs to be done and you are capable of doing that thing, you should do it,” said Emily Channell-Justice, the Director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University. “A lot of the response to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 was self-organized. A lot of ordinary people volunteered to fight. Western media was surprised by the strong response in 2022 by Ukraine but I think this goes back to Euromaidan.”
Euromaidan was a series of civil protests and demonstrations in Ukraine, which began after the Ukrainian government’s decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement (which they previously stated they intended to sign.) The Ukrainian government decided to strengthen its ties with Russia rather than the rest of Europe which angered civilians.
The civilians turned on the pro-Putin then-president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, which resulted in his removal as president on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties. Shortly thereafter he fled to Russia where he has lived in exile since 2014.
John Vsetecka, a Ph.D. candidate, in the Department of history at Michigan State University spoke about his time spent in Ukraine on a Fulbright Scholarship.
“I started going to every protest, even before the war, about what Putin was trying to say about Ukraine,” Vsetecka said. “I went from an academic to an activist. I had to be evacuated to Poland and I pretty much had three days to pack up and go. Since then I’ve just been trying to help all of the refugees get to Poland, find places to live, and find work.”
Panel members also explained the complex relationship between Ukrainians and Russians, both before and after the invasion.
“There are a few possibilities for the way Ukrainians will see Russians after the war,” said Oxana Shevel, associate professor of political science at Tufts University. “One is doubling down on the approach that was taken before the war, which is that Ukrainians are the good guys and the Russians are the bad guys and there can be no questioning or doubt about it.
“Another possibility is that the discussions of WWII and past history more generally might become less prominent because there are going to be new heroes. And I think that could create more of an open space for discussion on Ukraine’s own complicated past [and role in the Holocaust.]
Shevel went on to say, “I believe that regardless of the decommunization laws, Russia would have attacked anyway. They were looking for excuses and citing all types of crazy things from how language is taught in school to what municipal government reform looks like to the school for indigenous people that for whatever reason Putin was very incensed about.”
Scholars also spoke about the importance of cultural heritage preservation in Ukraine, as Russians have been destroying Ukrainian artifacts during their invasion. Additionally, they spoke about the use of propaganda in Russia and the importance of real journalism and reporting what’s actually happening in Ukraine.
“The world is looking, and the world is interested, and the world is deeply impressed by the Ukrainian response to Russia’s war,” said Askold Melnyczuk, writer, editor, and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts. “This is a very important time and I’ve been moved and excited by the willingness of so many American writers to cover events that I’ve collaborated on, including speaking to Ukrainian poets and writers.”
An important response to the war is making sure Ukrainian voices reach the rest of the world, both through writing and through videos.
Scientists also spoke during the event, including Melania Nynka, an astrophysicist at MIT, who has spent time working in Poland.
“There are some people with Ukrainian ties but also many that don’t have any but are still extremely supportive of Ukraine and showing their solidarity,” said Nynka. “If there’s a Polish flag on a building, chances are there’s a Ukrainian flag right next to it. One of the first things we did was send about 500 pounds of tactical first aid kits to Ukraine. They were transported by the great organization, Sunflowers for Peace.”
Nynka and others, including many refugees, have worked to continue transporting materials into Ukraine and have also worked with the charity, Support for UA and EU.
Laada Bilaniuk, a professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Washington, spoke about language in wartime.
“In some ways language doesn’t matter and despite Russians repeatedly saying they need to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine, some of the areas where people primarily speak Russian have been the most heavily attacked,” Bilaniuk said. “In other ways language has become more and more politicized and areas that used to primarily speak Russian, have more and more people speaking Ukrainian. It’s another form of expression and proof of their differences from Russians.”
Other speakers at the Shevchenko Expertise-a-thon for Ukraine talked about medicine and biology. They explained the challenges faced by those with pre-existing health conditions in the wake of the destruction caused by the war and the challenges of trying to help those injured in battles and in Russian attacks.
“My fear is that because of the pandemic and now the war, people aren’t able to get checked for regular screenings which would catch health issues like cancer,” said Bohdan Pichurko, a critical care physician at Cleveland Clinic.
Iryna Vashchuk Discipio, the president of Revived Soldiers Ukraine, an organization that has helped get severely wounded soldiers to the United States for medical treatment talked about the importance of the organization as well as some of its successes.
“The spirit of the Ukrainian people is incredible and right now we have six people that have returned to fight using American prosthetics,” said Vashchuk Discipio. “It’s something I’m very proud of, especially because they used to live at home with me while they were getting treatment. We are also opening up a facility for anyone who has suffered either partial or full paralysis in the war.”
I can’t include everything that was covered during the event because of the large number of speakers there were but I learned a great deal about Ukrainian history, culture, and science from the event today. The event can be viewed in its entirety by searching “Shevchenko Expertise-a-thon for Ukraine” on YouTube.
The one common theme noted by all of the speakers is the courage of the Ukrainian people. They have so many of the same values and ideals as Americans and now we as Americans have the opportunity help Ukrainians fight for those values. Any donations, even small ones (whether it’s time or money) will add up and make a difference as Ukrainians fight for their independence and freedom.
