The year 2025 for the Ukrainian sociological community concluded with the Forum of Domestic Sociologists, within which the XIX Readings in memory of the outstanding Ukrainian sociologist Natalia Panina and the XIV competition "Best Young Sociologist of the Year" took place. The event was traditionally organized by the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine.
The theme of this year's Readings – "Metamorphoses of social structure and social mobility during the war" – united leading Ukrainian scholars and the young research community for a professional discussion of social transformations caused by the war.
The idea of the competition for young sociologists belonged to Natalia Panina. After her untimely death, the initiative was realized by her colleagues and associates – Yevhen Holovakha, Volodymyr Paniotto, and Mykola Churylov. Over the years, the competition has become an important tool for supporting and professionally developing young scientists.
The moderator of the event – Doctor of Sociological Sciences Oleksandr Stohniy – emphasized the growing responsibility of sociologists for the public word and the necessity of combining scientific research with a civic stance in wartime conditions.
The Readings were opened by the head of the Sociological Association of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Vil Bakirov, and the director of the Institute of Sociology, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Holovakha, who stressed the importance of preserving scientific memory and the continuity of academic traditions.
The program of the Readings included a number of scientific reports and discussions. In particular, the head of the Department of Social Structures of the Institute of Sociology, Doctor of Sociological Sciences Olena Symonchuk, presented the report "Social architecture of Ukraine in wartime conditions: structural changes, inequalities, and conflicts."
An important component of the Forum was the presentations of the participants of the XIV competition "Best Young Sociologist of the Year." In 2024-2025, essays were submitted to the competition under two thematic directions: "Sociologists during the war: professional challenges, practices, and scenarios" and "Metamorphoses of social structure and social mobility during the war."
By decision of the scientific jury, the winners of the competition were:
1st place – Volodymyr Shelukhin (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, essay "Anamnesis in sociology: from memory to knowledge").
2nd place – Ruslan Zaporozhchenko (V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, essay "Between stability and uncertainty: Proletariat, precariat, and the new reality of Ukraine").
3rd place – Valentyn Hatsko (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, essay "East and West together? Why it is premature to talk about the end of regional differences").
The laureate of the Iryna Popova Prize, established by the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine together with the Southern Ukrainian branch of the Sociological Association of Ukraine, was also Valentyn Hatsko – for research with a pronounced practical focus.
According to information from the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine