Many South Africans trained in Odesa, Perevalne and Kyiv. Their stories belong to both our countries, and they are still under-researched.

Solidarity and Complexity of the Past for a Better Future is a hybrid conference bringing researchers from Ukraine, South Africa and beyond to look at this history honestly, including its contradictions.

RECOVERING A SHARED HISTORY

The conference seeks to bring overlooked evidence, archival materials and personal histories into the historical record. We particularly welcome original archival research, oral histories, academic papers, case studies and interdisciplinary contributions, drawing on Ukrainian, South African and international sources.

THEMES

▪️ Education and military training in Ukraine

▪️ Ukraine’s diplomatic and political support for the anti-apartheid struggle

▪️ Ukraine in the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid

▪️ Ukrainian society’s information campaign against apartheid

▪️ Repression of human rights in the Ukrainian SSR and the anti-apartheid struggle

▪️ The Ukrainian SSR’s role in promoting economic and sport sanctions

▪️ Archives and historical evidence

▪️ Memory and contemporary relevance: what this solidarity means for Ukraine–South Africa relations today

HOW TO SUBMIT

Abstract length: 250 to 300 words

Deadline: 1 November 2026

Send to: [email protected]

Conference: 12 November 2026, 13:00 to 17:30 (English)

Selected presentations will be invited to submit full papers for publication, expected at the end of 2027.

ORGANISED BY

Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UAZA), University of Pretoria, Centre for Sustainability Transition at Stellenbosch University, Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University and Sol Plaatje University. With the support of the Ukrainian Institute.

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More information about the conference