Description
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war in Ukraine. This most recent invasion is part of a larger conflict between the two countries that accumulated in illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia (2014) and continued fighting in Eastern provinces of Ukraine. Russians perceive this invasion as a necessary step to counter Western hegemony, while Ukrainians respond to the invasion as part of a broader fight for national identity and independence against a former colonising power. As a result, many people in both countries hold negative images of the “other”. In Ukraine, University teachers have reported heightened feelings of aggression and militancy towards Russia among its student population, introducing projects aimed at shifting the narrative from militarism to peace. This paper explores the impact of a project named, “I Vote for Peace,” introduced at a University in Western Ukraine to help alter how their students respond to the war at a pivotal point in their education and socialisation. It highlights the insights of teachers and students at this university, who either helped create or were recipients of this project, through focus groups and semi-structured interviews. It explores how effective this bespoke peace project was in changing narratives among the youth community at this university and offers conclusions on its ability to be rolled out more broadly in war-torn countries.
