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BiB Workshop • 28.06.2022Ukrainian Demography in Times of War
How has the demographic situation in Ukraine changed over time? How can the academic and political communities support researchers in Ukraine - and what opportunities are there to maintain and expand scientific cooperation, both now and in the future? These questions were addressed in an online workshop organised by the BiB together with Population Europe and the University of Southampton on 28 April 2022.
Population decline even before the war
Dr Nataliia Levchuk (Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv) demonstrated to what extent the crucial humanitarian situation had already affected demographic development. She first looked at the demographic situation in Ukraine before the war, which had already been experiencing a decline in population, declining life expectancy and a very low birth rate for some time.
Rapidly increasing number of refugees in the country
Dr Yuliya Hilevych (Economic and Social History Department, University of Groningen, The Netherlands) explained the dynamic nature of current migration. While the number of internally displaced persons in the country was 1.7 million before 24 February 2022, it has grown to 7.7 million since the outbreak of the war.
Dr Oleksiy Poznyak (Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv) pointed out an estimated 5.3 million people had left Ukrainian territory by the end of April. In view of the high share of women among displaced persons in the context of flight, Dr Marie McAuliff (Migration Research Division, International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland) pointed out the great importance of a gender perspective.
More independence for Ukrainian research is needed
Considering the extremely challenging catastrophic situation, the main question from a scientific perspective is how European researchers can contribute to supporting the Ukrainian research landscape, said BiB scientist Dr Sebastian Klüsener.
Dr Ella Libanova (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv) and Natalia Kharchenko from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) explained how relations can be intensified from the perspective of Ukrainian research. Both pleaded for specific support by the international research community so that science in Ukraine can step out of the shadow of the previous Russian dominance.
What can Europe do?
Rūta Žarnauskaitė (European Commission, Brussels) highlighted the significant contribution the EU can offer in building academic bridges to Ukraine. She introduced important EU funding opportunities and work programmes from which Ukraine might benefit.
Dr Wilhelm Krull (Volkswagen Foundation, Hamburg) underlined the great importance of international foundations for supporting Ukrainian researchers - not only for the refugees, but also for those who have stayed behind.