On 15 October, students and lecturers from the Educational-Scientific Institute of International Relations, History and Philosophy at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy (BKNUC) participated in the first meeting of a new series entitled “Women in Diplomacy: New Dimensions of the Profession”, continuing their active collaboration with the Scientific Society of the History of Diplomacy and International Relations.

The event was held as part of the Scientific Society’s project “The Female Face of Ukrainian Diplomacy”, developed and coordinated by Iryna Matiash, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor. The project is implemented with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine and the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The meeting was opened by Mariana Betsa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who highlighted the particular challenges faced by women diplomats during wartime.

The speakers included Olena Yalova, PhD in Political Science and Director of the State Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Oksana Syvak, a specialist in the development of Ukraine’s healthcare sector, board member of the NGO “Association for Psychological Counselling and Trauma Therapy”, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Trauma Therapy and the “International Institute of Postgraduate Education” LLC, and a civic activist; and Larysa Didkovska, Rector of the Ukrainian Free University (UFU) in Munich, Professor at the UFU, and a civic activist.

The event provided a platform for open dialogue on the professional challenges and experiences of women in diplomacy and related fields, as well as new dimensions of their work. Participants included not only current students at different levels of study at the Institute but also graduates who had taken part in previous initiatives organised by the Scientific Society. This demonstrates the continuity of the partnership and young people’s interest in gaining a deeper understanding of the day-to-day practice of modern diplomacy.

Watch the recording of the meeting here.

Natalka Zemziulina, “International Relations” Education Programme Leader