Justice in times of war: Philippe Sands in conversation with Olga Tokariuk

Join us at London’s Reform Club to hear from Philippe Sands, renowned barrister, author and Professor of Law about the pursuit of justice in times of war. Philippe Sands has been a key driving force in lobbying for a special tribunal for the Russian crime of aggression in Ukraine. He will be in conversation with Olga Tokariuk, journalist and Chatham House OSUN Academy Fellow.

This exclusive evening with Philippe Sands is a fundraiser to support the work of the Ukrainian Institute London.

Dress Code for Reform Club: Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and shirt with full collar. Ties are encouraged but not required. Ladies are required to dress with similar formality. Jeans, sportswear, trainers and similar sports footwear are not permitted.

Tickets

£50 - includes drinks reception

£100 - includes drinks reception and becoming a Friend of the UIL (50% discount for one year as Friend of UIL, with range of benefits and 5 free tickets to UIL events)

£30 - reduced donation amount for displaced Ukrainians, includes drinks reception

The discussion will be followed by a fundraising dinner for a limited number of guests. If you are interested in attending, please contact Constance Uzwyshyn: uzwyshyn@ukrainianinstitute.org.uk.

Our goals

The UIL promotes Ukrainian voices in mainstream public discourse not only to challenge dated assumptions about Ukraine but also to demonstrate the wealth of knowledge the country has to offer when it comes to global challenges.

Despite displaying extraordinary resistance since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine is often viewed first and foremost as an object of Russian aggression, rather than a subject with its own history and culture, clear vision for the future, and expertise that can be crucial to the rest of the world. Ukrainian perspectives are often missing in mainstream discussions of global issues.

This year, our goal at the UIL is to increase the influence of the Ukrainian perspectives on global challenges. We aim to achieve this by focusing our programme of events and projects on exploring the strategies employed in Ukraine to work towards appropriate and timely justice, the protection of the environment, and the consolidation of an anti-colonial culture that celebrates freedom and dignity.

Fundraising target

The UIL is 100% funded by donations, ticket sales and project funding. We rely fully on those who appreciate our work to help us keep going. To ensure financial sustainability of our 2024 programming, we need to raise £50,000 from new supporters of UIL. If we reach this goal by July 2024, we will receive a match funding grant of an additional £25,000 from the Open Society Foundations.

By contributing to our fundraiser, you will support the following activities:

• High-profile public events

Recent examples include Nobel Peace Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk in conversation with Edward Carr (The Economist) at the Royal Society of Arts, Professor Serhy Plokhii in conversation with Sir Richard Evans at the Royal Historical Society, Serhy Zhadan and Zhadan & Sobaky concert at Battersea Arts Centre.

• Annual Ukrainian Film Festival

The UIL’s annual Film Festival at Curzon Soho showcases the best of contemporary Ukrainian cinema to broad audiences. Our 2023 festival Side by Side was attended by 1,000 people, with feature and short film screenings, followed by Q&As with leading Ukrainian filmmakers.

• Annual Ukrainian Literature in Translation Prize

The lack of translations of Ukrainian literature is a major barrier for international audiences to discover Ukraine’s rich culture and understand the country’s history. To support and encourage new translations, the Ukrainian Institute London runs an annual translation prize, with a jury of leading translators reviewing all submissions.

• London Ukrainian Review

London Ukrainian Review is an open-access journal of culture, ideas, and new writing that tackles global challenges through the prism of Ukraine while adopting a distinctly internationalist perspective on the Ukrainian past and present.

• Capacity-building fellowships for displaced Ukrainians

The Ukrainian Institute London aims to continue engaging displaced Ukrainians to work with us on our programming, through paid capacity-building fellowships. We currently have four fellows working with UIL, and hope to continue these fellowships moving forward.

• Educational courses

We curate online courses in Ukrainian literature and history, and we are looking to develop a new course in visual art and culture in 2024.

About UIL

Ukraine is at the forefront of the global fight for freedom, human dignity and justice. The Ukrainian Institute London is an independent charity that champions Ukrainian culture and shapes the conversation about Ukraine in the UK and beyond. We engage experts, creatives, policymakers and active citizens to explore Ukrainian perspectives on global challenges.

With our diverse programme of public-facing events, educational courses and digital content, we enable audiences around the world to access nuanced and reliable information about Ukraine. The UIL is an independent UK- registered charity affiliated with the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

Speakers

Philippe Sands KC is Professor of Law at University College London and a practising barrister at 11 King's Bench Walk (11KBW). He appears as counsel before international courts and tribunals, and sits as an international arbitrator. He is author of Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008) and numerous academic books on international law, and has contributed to the New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, Financial Times, The Guardian and The New York Times. Philippe Sands has been a key driving force in lobbying for a special tribunal for the Russian crime of aggression in Ukraine. His latest books are The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain’s Colonial Legacy (2022), The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020), East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (2016), awarded the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize, the 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the 2018 Prix Montaigne. Philippe Sands served as President of English PEN from February 2018 to April 2023 and is a member of the Board of the Hay Festival of Arts and Literature. Philippe Sands is a patron of the Ukrainian Institute London.

Olga Tokariuk is a Chatham House OSUN Academy Fellow, Ukraine Forum. Her main professional interests are international affairs and research on disinformation, especially in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She is a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and CEPA non-resident fellow. Olga’s background is in journalism and she has vast experience in Ukrainian and international media, such as TIME, The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, Monocle, EFE (Spain), ANSA (Italy). She is a former head of foreign news desk at the independent Ukrainian Hromadske TV.Olga Tokariuk worked on several disinformation research projects with organisations such as Oxford Analytica, Zinc, Mythos Labs. Olga Tokariuk is a former scholar of the Digital Sherlocks program at the Atlantic Council’s DFR Lab. Olga Tokariuk is a frequent guest lecturer at various academic institutions including University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, University of Miami, etc. She holds an MA in political science and international relations from the University of Bologna and an MA in journalism from the Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv.