2026 TCUP Conference

Solidarity Within and Beyond Ukraine

January 30-31, 2026
Cambridge, MA

At the time of the 2026 TCUP Conference, we will be approaching four years of Russia's war in Ukraine. The stakes of the war have never been higher— for Ukraine or for the world. What does Solidarity mean in a global context where we are on the brink of a world war?

We will explore the shifting dynamics of global solidarity with Ukraine (and the forces that undermine this solidarity) as well as the evolving forms of political engagement that are giving renewed meaning to the idea of Solidarity within Ukraine itself.

Keynote speaker: Maksym Butkevych, human rights activist, journalist, and winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize (2025).

Conference Program

January 29, 2026

Film Screening: 2000 Meters to Andriivka by Mstyslav Chernov 

January 30, 2026

Panel 1: Global Solidarity with Ukraine 

Moderator: Rory Finnin, University of Cambridge 

Panelists: 
Nataliya Gumenyuk, Public Interest Journalism Lab (online) 
Yevhen Hlibovytsky, Frontier Institute 
Sergio Jaramillo, Acordemos (online) 
Roman Waschuk, Former Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine

	Read the summary of Panel 1 here

Art Exhibit: With Ribbons and Flags. 

Introduction and Discussion with Emily Channell-Justice and Sam Veremchuk. (Belfer Case Study Room)

Panel 2: Солідарність: Political Activism and Civic Engagement 

Moderator: Emily Channell-Justice, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute 

Panelists: 
Yuliya Bidenko, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute/V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University 
Emma Mateo, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute 
Ivan Shmatko, Washington and Lee University 
Yevhen Shybalov, independent consultant and author

	Read the summary of Panel 2 here

Keynote Lecture: Maksym Butkevych

	Read the summary of the Keynote Lecture here

January 31, 2026

Panel 3: Solidarity under Occupation 

Moderator: Oleksandra Tarkhanova, University of St. Gallen

Panelists: 
Alim Aliev, Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine 
Neringa Klumbyte, Miami University, Ohio 
Oksana Mikheieva, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Kyiv School of Economics (KSE)
Alisa Sopova, Princeton University

	Read the summary of Panel 3 here

Panel 4: US-Ukraine Solidarity: Activism and Advocacy 

Moderator: Melinda Haring, Razom for Ukraine 

Panelists: 
Sean Kivlehan, Mass General Brigham/Harvard Humanitarian Initiative 
Meaghan Mobbs, Weatherman Foundation (Online)
Nate Mook, All Hands & Hearts
Sarah Phillips, Indiana University

	Read the summary of Panel 4 here

Closing Reception will include a performance by Yaryna Tsymbal