“Before sharing your own story, it is crucial to hear first the story of those with whom you are talking” — Oleksandra Romantsova spoke at a Mystetskyi Arsenal

On Saturday, 27 January, Ukraine’s flagship cultural institution Mystetskyi Arsenal, held a panel discussion titled “The Limits of Solidarity. The World in the Time of Blackouts” as part of its educational program organized on the margins of the Coexisting with Darkness exhibition. Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties, was among the panelists, who discussed their public diplomacy experiences in countries where Ukraine until recently had been largely unknown.

In many such countries, for instance, power outages have been routine for many years, so finding common ground and inspiring solidarity – which Ukraine needs in all parts of the world – can be challenging. The discussion touched on how traumatic experiences may affect communication and on the role of cultural exchange.

“The language of art is very diverse, articulate, and impactful – from one person to another,” Oleksandra emphasised when speaking of the large exhibition of children’s drawings titled Colors to Draw Peace organized in 2023 in Italy with CCL’s support.

The discussion concluded with outlining a basic strategy for connecting with people in other countries and building solidarity. Each of the panelists underscored the importance of finding shared values and experiences at the interpersonal level. Telling stories from one’s past and focusing on simple things like national foods or sports, are some of the most effective tools anyone can use – as well as making an effort to find out more about one’s interlocutor and to identify common concerns.

“There is definitely no need for ‘suffering contests’. Before sharing your own story, it is crucial to hear first the story of those to whom you are talking. Only then can you build those ‘mirror’ neuron connections, by finding specific threads that bring us closer to each other,” said Romantsova. Other panelists included Solomiya Borshosh, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Institute, Nataliya Gumenyuk, co-founder of the NGO Hromadske Telebachennia, and Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal.