On September 24, the 6th International Diplomatic Forum titled "International Education and Diplomacy in the 21st Century: Achievements and Prospects" took place at the National University of Ostroh Academy.
Ukrainian and foreign diplomats from 16 countries, along with representatives from various international organisations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gathered at the Academy for this event. In particular, the event was attended by:
- Robert Müller – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria;
- Orla McBreen – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ireland;
- Kanwar Adnan Ahmed Khan – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
- Idris Kadyrkulov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic;
- Ahmed Salama Mohamed Elhamshari – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
- Arif Muhammad Basalamah – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia;
- Bagas Wisang Narararya – First Secretary, Head of Protocol Consular and Socio-Cultural Affairs of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia;
- Nguyen Tran Xuan Son – First Secretary of the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
- Paweł Terpiłowski – Head of the Department of Education and Science of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland;
- Justinas Ražinskas – Third Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania;
- Andreas Zapounidis – Consular and Economic Affairs Officer of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus;
- Dinesh Kumar Bhardwaj – Second Secretary, Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of India;
- Sofiya Myhal – Assistant to the Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta;
- Roman Mehela – Honorary Consul of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Uzhhorod;
- Iryna Ivashchuk – Honorary Consul of the Republic of Senegal in Ukraine;
- Halyna Masliuk – Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Lviv;
- Vitalii Zapukhliak – Honorary Consul of the Republic of Croatia in Ivano-Frankivsk.
The co-organisers of the Diplomatic Forum were the National University of Ostroh Academy and the Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions (SE "GDIP"). The main goal of the event is to create a platform for discussion and exchange of views on the impact of education and diplomacy on the development of international cooperation, intercultural dialogue and global challenges.
The forum brought together leading state leaders, representatives of state authorities, diplomatic missions of foreign states, international organisations, and the university's academic and student community.
The welcoming speech was made by: Eduard Balashov, Rector of the NaUOA, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Full professor; Liudmyla Shatkovska, Deputy Head of the Rivne Regional State Administration; Pavlo Kryvonos, diplomat, Director General of the "GDIP", Honorary Professor of the NaUOA; Volodymyr Ogryzko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Austria and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organisations in Vienna (1999-2004), Head of the Center for Russian Studies; Roman Nedilskyi, the Director of the Directorate General for Human Resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the First Class, Vice-Consul of the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco, Consul General of Ukraine in Istanbul in 2021-2026, Representative of Ukraine to the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in 2022-2026; Ihor Ostash, Director of the State training and research institution of postgraduate education "Hennadiy Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs", Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Second Class, Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the II to IV convocations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Canada and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) (2006-2011), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Lebanon (2016-2022) ; Volodymyr Yevtukh, Doctor of Science (History), Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Italian Republic, concurrently to Malta and the Republic of San Marino (1997–1999), Minister of Ukraine for Nationalities and Migration (1995–1997) .
Ostroh Academy is proud of its extensive network of international academic partnerships, innovative educational programmes, academic mobility and scientific research. Our graduates successfully work in government agencies, international organisations and diplomatic missions, representing Ukraine with dignity worldwide. I sincerely thank the co-organiser of the forum, the Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions. Our long-term and fruitful cooperation enables us to make this forum an effective platform for direct dialogue among science, the educational environment, and practical diplomacy. I am sure that it is thanks to such initiatives as the diplomatic forum that we will be able to create the future jointly," Eduard Balashov expressed.
Rector of Ostroh Academy Eduard Balashov conveyed the most sincere and warmest congratulations from the President of the University, Founding Rector, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Professor Ihor Pasichnyk, who wished the forum participants fruitful discussions and effective results.
"It is a great honour for me, on behalf of all residents of the Rivne Oblast and its Head, to welcome you here. Ostroh is a place of power, and thanks to Prince Vasyl-Konstiantyn Ostrozkyi and his large family, it has already become the Ukrainian Mecca of diplomatic relations. I hope the knowledge you gain at Ostroh Academy will help you become state-builders who contribute significantly to Ukraine. Convey to the whole world that Ukrainians are the good and the light," said Liudmyla Shatkovska.
"It is symbolic that we meet not only to exchange views on the turbulent present, but also to consistently form a new generation of diplomats, civil servants and specialists in international relations. For us, Ostroh Academy is a centre of wisdom, statesmanship and modern scientific thought. Thanks to our long-term cooperation for more than 6 years, students of Ostroh Academy have been practising at the offices of the Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions and later have become part of its professional family. It is your graduates who today work in various departments of the directorate and have career growth. I sincerely thank the President of the University, Hero of Ukraine Ihor Pasichnyk, the Rector Eduard Balashov, and the entire team of Ostroh Academy for their genuine cooperation. I am grateful for the support of the event to representatives of diplomatic missions and partners who are with us today. Your participation is not just a sign of respect but an invaluable opportunity for students and young professionals to get acquainted with the practice of international communication and to hear the experience and reasoning of diplomats. I wish all participants of the forum inspiration, new ideas and strong partnerships," added Pavlo Kryvonos.
"I want to remember our master of diplomacy, Hennadii Udovenko, who formulated the exact formula of what a Ukrainian diplomat and anyone who serves their country should be like. These are the three "P's": professionalism, probity and patriotism. You entered Ostroh Academy to become Ukrainian specialists, decent people and patriots. Thank you very much, Mr President and Mr Rector, for what you are doing and how you are fostering Ukrainian hope – our common hope. Dear students, learn and become individuals! You can do this because you have role models such as the President of the university, Ihor Pasichnyk, the Rector, Eduard Balashov, and the academic staff. I am convinced that these are people who pass on to you not only their knowledge, but also their soul, so I am sure that no matter how difficult it is for us, soon we will all win, because the truth always wins!" said Volodymyr Ohryzko.
"I am sure that there are future ambassadors and diplomats among you. Of course, not all of you will become diplomats, but as professionals, you will be in demand in other, no less important, professions for the Ukrainian state. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has historically drawn on experience, which is extremely important for the further work of the diplomatic service. However, we miss you: your youthful energy, new ideas, out-of-the-box thinking. This synergy is what will enable us to continue achieving success. We need you; you are our hope and future. You can be ambassadors for your country; to do so, you need to love it. I am convinced that you do. Do not stop, move on to your goal. Do not be afraid of something new. Believe in yourself, then you will definitely succeed," said Roman Nedilskyi.
"Ukrainian diplomacy is diplomacy, the voice of which is heard all over the world and which now has a completely new quality. Ukraine has become a very powerful subject in international politics; it is a power-based diplomacy at the forefront. Therefore, it is very important to us that these achievements are supported by new students currently studying at many universities, particularly in the speciality "International Relations". We are very happy to cooperate with Ostroh Academy and are interested in seeing you at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine," said Ihor Ostash.
"Thanks to education, a lot can be done to develop international relations between countries. This is a kind of diplomacy through education. Each university is unique, and unique specialities can be found in each university. I think that we, educators and diplomats, should make efforts to ensure that diplomacy plays a very important role in education," Volodymyr Yevtukh added.
The participants joined an open dialogue, shared their professional experience, and expressed their positions and visions for developing universities in global diplomacy (from academic partnerships to international influence) and in Ukraine's role in the global educational space (from academic mobility to strengthening international subjectivity). The Vice-Rector for Research and Teaching, Doctor of Science (Philosophy), Professor of the NaUOA Dmytro Shevchuk, moderated the panel discussions.
Within the framework of the forum, students and teachers of the National University of Ostroh Academy actively participated in the discussions, asking many meaningful and relevant questions of the event participants. They talked about the impact of educational diplomacy to strengthen relations between Indonesia and Ukraine; the formation of long-term international ties with higher education institutions geographically distant from Ukraine (for example, Pakistan, Vietnam, India, etc.); the impact of educational diplomacy on the integration of Ukrainians into European science and the mechanisms that will stimulate them to return and rebuild Ukraine; the balance between preserving the educational traditions of each country and modern innovations; the peculiarities of diplomacy in the era of global digitalisation and social networks; the experience of Cyprus in the field of internationalisation of its own higher education and possible ways of its implementation in Ukrainian universities, etc.
"Today, education is not only an internal affair or an internal policy of states. We see how education becomes a tool for international cooperation, the exchange of ideas, and human development. In my opinion, we can talk not only about educational policy, but also about science diplomacy, which is a very important tool for overcoming modern global challenges. Also, educational diplomacy should become a new dimension of international relations, in which influence is built not on pressure, but on trust, knowledge and human connections. We can create a common educational space for teaching, learning and research to unite different nations," Dmytro Shevchuk concluded.
Yaroslav Burkut, a 2nd-year student of the second (Master's) degree of higher education of the "Global Communication Management" Programme, and Kateryna Havrylenko, a 3rd-year student of the "English and Second Foreign (German/French) Languages. Literature. Translation." shared their experience after visiting the event.
"The diplomatic forum raised an extremely important issue of supporting and developing international cooperation at the university level. At a time when our country is resisting Russian aggression and defending its independence, Ukraine should use its own intellectual potential to expand and deepen ties with foreign educational institutions, which will contribute to the formation of long-term partnerships and deepening cross-cultural communication," said Yaroslav Burkut.
"Today's forum left incredible impressions! Such events give young people a unique chance not only to join the diplomatic world but also to feel their importance in international relations and state-building, to reveal their potential, and to find their own path for development. This day was especially useful for me: I discovered new learning opportunities and got great pleasure from communicating with people who are sincerely not indifferent to the fate of Ukraine, its science and the younger generation," said Kateryna Havrylenko.
