On September 17, an outstanding presentation of the book by the American author Angi Yoder- Maina, "Healing as a Key of Peace: An Approach to Peacemaking in Traumatized Societies," took place. The book was translated, adapted, published, and distributed free of charge in a circulation of 1,000 copies by UA VETERANS through the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The initiator and editor of the book was Professor and public figure Anna Romanova, who, for more than a year, was looking for an opportunity to somehow make the English version of the book available to Ukrainians.
The event was unique in that it brought together more than 600 educators, trauma specialists, veterans from all over Ukraine – from Chernihiv to Kherson, from Lviv to Kharkiv, with their American colleagues. The event was attended by more than 20 institutions: authorities, educational institutions, veteran centers, psychological support services, centers for social services for the population, women's organizations, and other public associations. It is also unique that thanks to the "teleconference", the presentation took place in real time on several continents.
The book is dedicated to restoring the mental health of entire societies that have experienced traumatic events and collective traumas in the past. Angi Yoder-Maina, an American doctor of science in peacemaking, who has devoted more than 30 years to peacebuilding in hot spots of the world, calls this process of social recovery "healing". Now, Dr. Yoder-Maina works as the Director of the Resilience Institute for Strength and Empowerment (RISE) at Florida State University (USA) and admires the Ukrainian people, who show unprecedented resilience and intuitively apply wise approaches to healing that Ukrainians inherited from their ancestors. She provided the copyright for the publication of the book in Ukrainian free of charge so that her approaches to understanding collective trauma and methods of healing social wounds of war could be applied in Ukraine.
The highlight of the Ukrainian version of the book was the illustrations adapted to the Ukrainian cultural background. Lively, bright, and eloquent paintings were created by Ukrainian art therapist and psychologist Svitlana Homeniuk. Her images appeared after the start of the war, as a result of psychotherapeutic sessions with Ukrainians who experienced trauma. Svitlana told the audience how art therapy can help get rid of collective trauma and demonstrated a technique for releasing subconscious stereotyped archetypal thinking.
The management of leading educational institutions expressed warm words of gratitude to American partners for their support. A sensitive moment was the speech of a Ukrainian veteran and representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights, who thanked the American people for their support.
Welcoming speeches were made by:
Yulia Hrytsku, Reform Support Manager of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
Oleksandr Kondrat, Vice-Rector for Research, Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas
Ksenia Smirnova, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work for International Cooperation, Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Tetiana Lyakh, Vice-Rector for Scientific, Pedagogical and Social and Humanitarian Work, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University
Olha Melnyk, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and Social Development, Chernihiv Polytechnic National University
Vitaliy Voronko, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work of Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Vitaliy
Veronika Denysenko, Vice-Rector for International, Social, Humanitarian and Scientific- Pedagogical Work, Kherson State University
Vilma Fuentes, Director of the Ukraine Support Group at Florida State University, USA Anna Ageicheva, Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy, Yuriy Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic National University
As Yulia Hrutsky, Reform Support Manager of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, aptly noted, "Ukrainians need this book in difficult times for recovery and resilience, for our victory!"
We are deeply grateful to all the institutions that took part in the presentation and donation of the book on healing traumatized societies, namely.
We thank organizations institutions, institutions throughout Ukraine that joined the presentation and free distribution of the book:
We invite you to a unique presentation of the book by the American author, experienced peacebuilder and director of the Institute for Resilience.
Combat veterans and individuals with disabilities due to the war can obtain professional training for free.
Specialists from the Hotline have created a Guide for veterans and their families.
Dr. Anna Romanova will give a lecture at Florida State University.
