On 4th of July 2024 – On the occasion of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order of Malta, the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Ukraine organized an international conference “Humanitarian Diplomacy in the Context of War in Ukraine”.
The event, attended by representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, foreign diplomatic corps and representatives of churches, was held at the Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with the support of the “Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions”.
The main goal of the conference was to discuss additional initiatives of diplomatic intervention and communication that can be taken to achieve peace in Ukraine, as humanitarian diplomacy is one of the possible and necessary tools for peaceful dialogue in times of war.
The conference covered the topics of cooperation in humanitarian diplomacy in the context of Russian aggression and the role of churches in this area of diplomatic relations, educational diplomacy in times of war, corporate social responsibility and the activities of the Malteser Relief Service in Ukraine.
Ambassador Hennadii Nadolenko, Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Ukraine, Antonio Gazzanti Pugliese di Cotrone, and Ms. Liudmyla Yenina, Director of the Department of Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, delivered welcoming speeches.
Other speakers included the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, First Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Voynalovych, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine Caroline Lindholm Billing, Head of the ICRC Mission in Ukraine Jürg Eglin, Vice-Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Ksenia Smyrnova and CEO of Bosch Ukraine Vitaliy Bulda.
The event was moderated by Mr. Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
At the end of the event, Ambassador Gazzanti Pugliese di Cotrone awarded Mr Vitaliy Bulda, CEO of Bosch Ukraine, with the Officer Cross of Merit of the Order of Malta (Pro Merito Melitensi).
