Oksana Zabuzhko is a writer and the author of nearly thirty books across various genres (poetry, prose, non-fiction, and cultural studies), many of which have had a transformative impact on Ukrainian society.
She graduated from the department of Philosophy and completed her postgraduate studies in Aesthetics at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She holds a PhD in Philosophy and worked for many years at the Hryhorii Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She is an Honorary Doctor of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. From 1992 to 1994, she taught Ukrainian studies at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh. She has also been active in journalism (as a columnist) and publishing (as a consultant). Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, she has become one of Ukraine’s most influential voices in Europe (in 2023, the BBC included her in its list of “100 Women Changing the World”).
Her books have been translated into 25 languages and awarded numerous national and international prizes, including the Angelus Central European Literature Award (2013), the Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (2019), the Stanisław Vincenz Prize of the City of Kraków (2022), and the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (2023), among others.
You can download the current program in PDF format or view it directly on our website.
DownloadIs Ukrainian culture experiencing a genuine renaissance today, or merely a surge of interest driven by the war?
Ukraine is reclaiming its own names, history, and cultural heritage. At the same time, the rejection of Russian cultural influence raises a new question: what are we creating in its place, and what will Ukraine’s cultural identity look like in the decades to come?
How can we shape a contemporary Ukrainian cultural identity that resonates with a broad audience without compromising depth or quality? What does it take to ensure the sustainable development of culture — strong institutions, effective public policy, private investment, and a fully functioning cultural market? And how can we make Ukrainian culture internationally recognised not only because of the war, but for its own intrinsic value and ability to compete on the global stage?
These are the challenges and questions surrounding the future of Ukrainian culture that we will explore during the discussion “Culture in Wartime: Weapon, Therapy, or Foundation of Identity?”.