Kherson State University

On November 10–11, in Stockholm, Sweden, the international conference “From Social Resilience to Obscurantism in the Baltic Sea Region: Social Cohesion, Populism, and Everything in Between” was held at the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) of Södertörn University.

The event brought together scholars and practitioners to debate issues of social resilience and engage in interdisciplinary dialogue on sustaining resilience in times of crises and military threats. Among the participants was Professor Daria Malchykova, Doctor of Geographical Sciences and Vice-Rector of KSU.

The conference also involved representatives of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, as well as from Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.

“This is a professional platform for researchers working on social resilience in the Baltic Sea region. The focus is on governance mechanisms that can strengthen resilience and on developing policies to counter disinformation, propaganda, and infrastructure attacks — challenges that Ukraine continues to face more than three years after russia’s full-scale invasion,”
– emphasized KSU Rector Oleksandr Spivakovskiy.

Participants discussed the following topics:

• How can democracy be protected?
• How can governments, civil society, and academia support social resilience in the face of contemporary challenges, ensuring that communities not only withstand hybrid threats but also maintain their faith in democratic values and institutions in an increasingly uncertain world?
• How can new security risks in the Baltic Sea region be addressed based on lessons learned from Ukraine?
• How can long-term European cooperation be strengthened to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region and across the continent? Is the existing cooperation architecture sufficient, or are new structures required?

Professor Daria Malchykova presented the report “Focusing on Local Resilience: Universities as ‘Anchors’ for Rebuilding War-Affected Vulnerable Communities”, co-authored with Professor Ihor Pylypenko of KSU.

“We sincerely thank Professor Malchykova for shaping the public discourse around the real challenges of wartime and post-war recovery in the Kherson region, and for promoting the unique experience of resilience within our university community,”
– noted Oleksandr Spivakovskiy.

KSU Press Center