Civic Actors in War and Peace

The war in Ukraine is not happening only in the battlefields. It has dramatically changed our cities. This podcast is a recording of the panel discussion from the conference  that took place in Bratislava on 9-10 October.We will hear the story of Uzhorod, a special place previously on the periphery, which suddenly became a centre of transit, migration, and international assistance. From spring 2022, its population has doubled. How can towns and villages withstand such a pressure? How is the local government dealing with tensions among the newcomers and locals?Bratislava is the city that has never before experienced receiving refugees. In recent war, it became an important crossroad for migrants, and a centre of national support for Ukraine. Although geographically far away from borders, the city feels the impact of the war in political life as well. What other challenges is Bratislava facing as a capital of a small country providing the massive help to Ukraine?In Poland, there is a significant Ukrainian minority and diaspora, visible politically and culturally. During the war, Polish cities received huge numbers of refugees. Some of them were struggling with insufficient infrastructure and lack of capacities. What was the role of native Ukrainians in Poland? How the cooperation of civic actors with the central and local governments look like? What has changed in Polish cities with the recent war?The war may not be so visible in our region, but it has changed our cities a lot. Was it for good or for bad?This podcast series is supported by The Rights Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union funded project European Observatory of Online Hate