On May 18, 2023, the Lviv Declaration was signed during the 9th International Forum “Europe with a View to the Future” in Gdańsk, Poland.
Lviv Declaration initiated by the public organization “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” (Ukraine) and the European Solidarity Center (Poland).
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
Declaration strongly condemns Russian imperialism, which has reached an extreme in the form of Ruscism, and attests to the intentions of the representatives of both countries to jointly protect and preserve Ukraine’s deep democratic traditions and developed civil society; to contribute to the reconstruction and modernization of the war-damaged economy and infrastructure of Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Polish parliamentarians, politicians, artists, human rights defenders, religious scholars, scientists supported the need for the institutional development of civil society, its movement towards membership in Ukrainian structures and the creation of the institution of a democratic civil society – Center for Freedom and Democracy in Lviv.
“The idea to create a Center for Freedom and Democracy in Lviv was born in Gdańsk, in the European Solidarity Center. I was impressed both by the place itself and by the team led by my friend Basil Kerskyi. He and I talked a lot about the experience of the Center, similar centers in Europe, whose activities are united by the promotion of freedom, democracy and European values. And they jointly noted that there is a gap in this European network, because Ukraine is missing.” – said one of the signatories of the document, Mykola Kniazhytskyi, people’s deputy of Ukraine and co-chairman of the parliamentary group of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on inter-parliamentary relations with the Republic of Poland.
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
He considers the creation of such a center in Lviv to be symbolic, because the city’s tradition stands at the crossroads of civilizations, cultures, religions and peoples. According to Kniazhytskyi, Lviv has become a standard of Europeanness of Ukraine and the natural nature of our integration with the EU and NATO. The Declaration states that the Center should become a platform for creating free, non-political intellectual platforms for researching social processes, strengthening and spreading basic social values, supporting and developing civil society institutions and independent media, and promoting democratic movements in countries with authoritarian regimes.
“The Center for Freedom and Democracy should become an important point on the map of European cultural institutions, on a par with such recognized institutions as the European Solidarity Center in Gdańsk”, – the signatories believe.
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
In addition, the document declares that Ukraine should become a full member of the European Union as soon as possible, and the economic, infrastructural and cultural reconstruction of our country should take place with the help of Western countries. The declaration also states that the revival of Russian imperialism was facilitated by indifference to the region of Eastern Europe, and Western democracies must recognize that economic priorities cannot justify economic cooperation with countries that threaten world security.
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
The declaration was signed by:
Lech Walesa, Polish politician and trade unionist, leader of “Solidarity”, laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, president of the Republic of Poland (1990-1995),
Myroslav Marynovych, Ukrainian human rights defender, publicist, religious scholar, founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University,
Basil of Kersky, director of the European Solidarity Center,
Bohdan Lys, chairman of the board of the European Solidarity Center,
Mykola Kniazhytskyi, people’s deputy of Ukraine,
Sergey Kvit, president of the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”,
Irma Vitovska, theater and film actress, producer, public figure,
Yosyf Zisels, public figure, dissident, executive co-president of the Vaad of Ukraine, executive vice-president of the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine,
Ivan Malkovych, poet and publisher, laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine,
Lesya Matviychuk, human rights activist, head of the board of the Center for Civil Liberties, laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, coordinator of the Euromaidan SOS initiative group, laureate of the Vasyl Stus Prize.
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
This year’s forum “Europe with a view to the future” tells about how the war in Ukraine changed other countries. Among the participants of the Forum: Mykola Kniazhytskyi – people’s deputy of Ukraine, Yaryna Yasinevah – chairman of the board of the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, director of the International Forum of Central and Eastern Europe “Via Carpatia”, Oleksandra Matviychuk – human rights activist from the Center for Civil Liberties, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Ionova – People’s Deputy of Ukraine, member of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, Pyotr Andrusechko – journalist, war correspondent, laureate of the 2014 Grand Press Journalist of the Year award, Volodymyr Sheyko – director of the Ukrainian Institute, Maryana Savka – editor-in-chief of “Stary Lev Publishing House” and others.
More information about the Forum can be found at link
Organizers of the International Forum “Europe with a View to the Future”:
Non-governmental organization “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”,
European Solidarity Center,
TV channel “Espreso”,
College of Eastern Europe Jan Novak-Jezoransky,
New Eastern Europe,
Association of Honorary Consuls in Poland,
University of Gdańsk,
Gdansk.pl
Photo: Dawid Linkowski / Archiwum ECS
