Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past | Initiatives of Change International website

Overview

We see hopeful future built on trust and strong partnerships in Eastern Europe grounded on the respect for human life and historical memory.

Project mission

To foster the development of truly free and just society through encouraging healing of the past and reconciliation at the levels of individuals, communities and nations in East Europe.

Our goals

To facilitate the process where individuals and communities find healing experience and freedom from victim and victimiser mind-set in historical context.
To raise awareness both of communities and their members in taking responsibility for learning lessons of the past and shaping the future.
To work in collaboration with those who share our vision.

What we do

We run outreach programmes, dialogues, seminars and conferences to heal suppressed and wounded memories.
We seek to use our learning to develop processes and methods for dealing with potentially destructive attitudes and behaviors in order to make forgiveness, reconciliation and collaboration possible
We aim to be fully inclusive and respectful of diverse historical memories, belief systems, faith traditions and ethnic cultures

Activities

Series of dialogue seminars over Ukraine
Participation in the Week of Trust campaign
Participation in the Caux Forum on Human Security
Presentation of the “Letting Go” book
Creation of the web-site with life stories
Running the exhibition “Names instead of numbers”
Think tank focus on healing the past
Conference in Kyiv on healing the past

A project by Foundations for Freedom

News

Healing the Past Seminar took place in Kharkiv region, Ukraine NEW!

Can we overcome the stereotypes of the past? Is it possible and should we forgive the offences of the past? Participants of the dialogue seminar "Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past" tried to find answers to these and other questions on November 15-18 2012 near Kharkiv.22.11.2012

What I discovered during the 'Healing the Past' dialogue

I have suspected that the secret of our world is love.

The dialogue-seminar 'Healing the Past' has just confirmed that. I don’t know exactly what I came to understand there, but I felt the atmosphere where I could be sincere. I learned that my words can hurt someone, even if they are true.
12.09/2012

Presenting the book of life stories 'Letting Go'

We are glad to present to you a memorial and documentary publication 'Letting Go' ('Vidpushchennia'), which comprises 22 interviews and life stories taken in 2010 in the framework of the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past project from 29 people with different cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, political, and historical backgrounds, from 13 different places in the North, East, West, and South of Ukraine.
12.07.2012

Towards Understanding Through Dialogue

In view of the latest events in Ukraine, we can understand the importance of the steps towards mutual understanding concerning national issues, especially those conditioned by or related to our historical past and its perception. Lack of understanding or lack of a constructive dialogue in the society regarding sensitive, complex, or not fully investigated or unveiled issues has always been fertile ground for manipulations.

During four days May 17-20, 2012 in the suburbs of Lviv city (Ukraine) in the framework of the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past project, there took place a Dialogue-Seminar for the Foundations for Freedom and ally organizations from Ukraine and Romania on historical memory and healing the past.
07.06.2012

Meeting with Vladimir Bukovsky: thinking about future of Ukraine and Russia

As a part of Healing the Past project Olha Hudz-Sakuma (Ukraine), Lena Kashkarova (Ukraine) and Diana Damsa (Romania) visited a representative of Soviet dissidents’ movement Vladimir Bukovsky in his house in Cambridge. The past and future of Ukraine and Russia, the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation in the present days society and the interaction between personal and civil responsibility are among the topics discussed with Vladimir Bukovsky.
21.12.2011

Through Dialogue to Reconciliation

Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past project has got one more event on its account, this time it was an international Dialogue, with participation of the Foundations for Freedom (F4F) network.
25.10.2011

The presentation of the first Russian Sorrow Book was held in Moscow (in Russian only)

On 16 June 2011 the presentation of the first Russian Sorrow Book was held with the Russian project "Healing the Past".
23.06.2011

The project "Healing the Past in Russia" invites to the presentation of the Sorrow Book (in Russian only)

The history of each country has and will have those parts of its history, which will be its glory, and those which are its black pages, covered with silence and secrets.
14.06.2011/small>

The project "Healing the Past in Russia" invites to the presentation of the Sorrow Book (in Russian only)

The project "Healing the Past" started its activity in Russia. Please, read about the project, its goals, as well as the thoughts and interviews of the project participants you can read in the article of Mrs. Natalia Baranova.
28.04.2011

My thoughts after watching the video Letting Go' (in Russian only)

15.03.2011

Olka Hudz addresses the 3rd annual Caux Forum for Human Security

Speech of Olka Hudz about the origins of the project 'Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past' on the 3rd annual CAUX FORUM FOR HUMAN SECURITY in July 2010, at the Initiatives of Change International Conference Centre, Switzerland.
31.07.2010

IofC in Brief

Who we are: Initiatives of Change (IofC) is a world-wide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting with their own.

Purpose: We work to inspire, equip and connect people to address world needs, starting with themselves, in the areas of trustbuilding, ethical leadership and sustainable living.

Omnia Marzouk, President, IofC International
'Nothing lasting can be built without a desire by people to live differently and exemplify the changes they want to see in society.'