TCUP 2024: Keynote Lecture
For the TCUP 2024 Keynote Lecture, Razom for Ukraine CEO Dora Chomiak drew upon her experiences as an advocate for Ukrainian independence.
In Chomiak’s view, through the process of decolonization, Ukraine obtained a stronger free press, a more active civil society, and a fortified sense of sovereignty.
TCUP director Emily Channell-Justice introduced Chomiak by describing Razom’s activities. Founded in 2014 a few months prior to the first Russian invasion, the organization contributes to volunteer efforts in Ukraine. It engages in advocacy, fundraising, and aid delivery, while also supporting the Ukrainian American community.
Before Chomiak began overseeing these ventures, she helped develop independent journalism in Ukraine. She described visiting Ukraine in 1989 and 1990, when sovereignty was a hot button topic. In those years, she says the city of Lviv didn't have 24/7 access to running water.
Through interviewing officials, Chomiak discovered that Lviv’s management system wasn't centered in the city itself, but run from Moscow. Ergo, the leadership's primary concern was ensuring that military factories in Lviv had all the water they needed. "So the colonizer set the rules,” Chomiak concluded, “and the colony didn't have water."
In 1991, Ukrainian people from each oblast overwhelmingly voted for independence. During this era, Chomiak worked with journalists in Ukraine’s fledgling free press. She discovered they had reporting skills, but insufficient resources. Traditionally, there was only state run TV, which meant independent reporters lacked adequate equipment or connections.
Chomiak says she helped create an independant media incubator through grant money obtained from America. This supposedly resulted in a proliferation of news organizations. She would go on to support other efforts to develop infrastructure in Ukraine, such as training surgeons, and planting seeds.
Chomiak eventually transitioned into working at Razom, with the aim of reducing the war’s casualty rate. There, her duties included connecting combat medics with first aid kits, cars, and whatever equipment they required. This took innovative solutions: for example, factories which previously produced sandals pivoted to creating tactical medical backpacks.
For Chomiak, three recurring themes accompanied the pursuit of decolonization. The first was, getting a “good mix of people” to work together, side by side. Including many perspectives meant approaching challenges from different angles, which Chomiak described as more “comprehensive.”
For the second theme, Chomiak informed the audience: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. So, stay for the long haul.” Creating institutions, and establishing sovereignty, is a lengthy process, requiring real commitment.
Finally, Chomiak’s third message was to learn from Ukrainian people themselves. “Get a mic,” she proposed, “Get an audience, hand the mic to a Ukrainian… Step aside.”
As if to prove her point, as her speech drew to a close, Chomiak introduced her colleague Valentina Sotnikova. The latter operates a YouTube channel and podcast about Ukrainian literature as a means of decolonization.
A former school teacher, Sotnikova created a program to educate people about Ukrainian books, in an accessible way. Her aspiration is to get people talking about Ukraine’s living authors. Rather than waiting until these authors have passed away from war, she encouraged her audience to acknowledge them “now, when they are alive.” Sotnikova concluded her speech by saying, “Please talk to us. We are ready.”