The Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University, invites you to join us in Cambridge or online for the 2025 Conference, Landscapes of War, Landscapes of Victory: Ukraine’s Changing Environment, February 7-8, 2025.

Since 2022, Ukrainians across the country have been denied the right to live in a safe environment. Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has drawn into focus a conversation about ecocide (the destruction of landscapes and ecosystems that can never be recovered) and other kinds of environmental devastation. The impact of Russian warfare on Ukraine’s agricultural landscapes and global food production has far-reaching ramifications. Amidst all this, Ukrainians continue to survive and rebuild.

The panels at this year’s conference highlight these essential topics related to Ukraine’s changing environment. Panels will address the current geopolitical landscape and the war’s impact on global issues such as food security; how Ukrainians have been at the forefront of establishing ecocide and environmental war crimes as part of Russia’s repertoire of genocidal tactics in Ukraine and how they might be prosecuted through legal mechanisms; the widespread notion of Building Back Better and the potential to incorporate sustainability standards in Ukraine’s current and future development; and the quickly-changing landscapes of data and technology and their roles in these reconstruction processes. The keynote lecturer is Jojo Mehta (Stop Ecocide International).

For more information, including in-person and online attendance registration, please visit the Conference website. All conference panels will be held in person at Harvard University as well as being streamed online in English and Ukrainian. Registration for both in-person and online attendance is free but required.