Ukrainian Democracy After the Maidan: Threats and Opportunities
The Global Europe Program is pleased to host the 10th Annual Ion Ratiu Democracy Award Workshop on Ukrainian Democracy After the Maidan featuring keynote remarks the 2014 recipient of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist, democracy activist and Parliamentarian in Ukraine.
Mustafa Nayyem has been working at “Ukrainska Pravda” (“Ukrainian Truth”) since 2006, directing online media. In April 2013, along with several colleagues, he founded Ukraine’s first independent Internet TV Channel: Hromadske.tv. This unique platform is funded by independent donations, and was created in response to censorship and media monopolization. Mr. Nayyem and Hromadske.tv played a crucial role in the “Euromaidan” protests. His Facebook post in which he issued a call to go to Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv, to protest the Ukrainian government’s decision to stop Ukraine’s process of integration into the European Union, was shared over one thousand times in a matter of hours. These protests precipitated the fall of President Yanukovych’s government and are evidence of the Ukrainian people’s struggle for freedom and democratic values, and Mustafa Nayyem’s actions around that time have placed him as an important leader of the protests. In addition, Mr. Nayyem won a seat in Parliament in Ukraine’s October 2014 elections
Established in 2005, the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award (IRDA) aims to bring visibility and international recognition to the ideas, ideals and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. It brings recognition to the importance of the work carried out by democracy activists around the world. The event expresses the deep commitment to democracy of the late Ion Ratiu through his contributions as a Romanian politician as well as his interest in democratic change worldwide.
Previous awardees include Angela Kocze (Hungary,2013), Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar, 2012), Nabeel Rajab (Bahrain, 2011), Oleg Kozlovsky (Russia, 2010), Adam Michnik (Poland, 2009), Eleonora Cercavschi (Moldova, 2008), Anatoli Mikhailov (Belarus, 2007), Saad Ibrahim (Egypt, 2006), and Sergio Aguayo (Mexico, 2005).
This event is co-sponsored by the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation, the Ratiu Center for Democracy, and the Kennan Institute.
Event Sponsors
Speakers
Woodrow Wilson Center
Professor of Modern History of Ukraine, Ukrainian Catholic University
President and CEO, US Russia Foundation
Senior Transatlantic Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Trends, German Marshall Fund, Berlin; Robert Bosch Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Hosted By
Global Europe Program
The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe’s capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include “Ukraine in Europe”—an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine’s European future a reality. But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe’s energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more
Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange. Read more