On February 4, 2026, the second meeting in the lecture series "Stefanyk Meetings" took place in the conference hall of the Ossolineum in Wrocław, dedicated to reflecting on the psychological dimension of war and the challenges of Ukrainian identity.
The event brought together scholars, intellectuals, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish communities, becoming an important platform for professional dialogue amid the ongoing war.
The opening remarks were delivered by the director of the Vasyl Stefanyk Lviv National Scientific Library of Ukraine, Vasyl Fershtey, and the director of the National Ossolineum Institute, Łukasz Kamiński. In their speeches, they emphasized the symbolic nature of the Ossolineum space as a place of shared historical memory and the continuity of the mission of both institutions in preserving and promoting Ukrainian and Polish historical and cultural heritage.
The central event of the meeting was a lecture by the rector of the Ukrainian Free University in Munich, Professor Larisa Didkovska, titled "Psychological Resources and Challenges of Ukrainian Identity in the Context of War." The speaker stressed that the war is not only a military and political conflict but also a profound psychological experience that significantly influences how a person understands themselves, their community, and the future.
Special attention was paid to the role of national identity, cultural memory, and social connections as key resources of mental resilience. The lecturer outlined the internal tensions faced by Ukrainian society during the war, particularly between personal pain and responsibility to the community, between the experience of suffering and the necessity of action, and also highlighted the risks of social polarization and the traumatic experience of emigration.
The event was attended by the acting Consul General of Ukraine in Wrocław, Diana Ivanova, and Vice Consul Snizhana Saichenko, as well as representatives of academic, cultural, and public institutions, underscoring the significance of the meeting for the development of Ukrainian-Polish dialogue and support for Ukrainian cultural and intellectual initiatives abroad.
During the event, the general director of the Vasyl Stefanyk Lviv National Scientific Library of Ukraine, Vasyl Fershtey, presented guests with the scientific catalog of the exhibition "Imago Ucrainæ on Maps of the 15th–20th Centuries." The publication, prepared with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation within the program "Culture During War," became a significant contribution to the popularization of Ukrainian cartographic heritage.
