Ukraine and the World: Global Insights Forum
Forum Program
Event Photos
August 23rd | Chicago, Ukrainian Village
🔹 Panel 1: Global Security and Peace Through Strength
Michael A. McFaul
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia; Stanford University professor; NBC news analyst
- Expert in international relations, Russian politics, and U.S. foreign policy
- Served as special assistant to the President and senior director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council
Peter Roskam
Former U.S. Representative (R-IL); Chairman of the Board of the National Endowment for Democracy, prominent voice on foreign affairs and legislative policy
Moderator: Andrij Dobryansky
Director of Communications, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
Oleksandra (Sasha) Ustinova
Member of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Commission on Arms Control
- Oversees defense procurement transparency and U.S.-Ukraine relations
- Deputy head of U.S.-Ukraine Friendship Group
Ivo H. Daalder
Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO; Host of World Review; international affairs expert
- Former President, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Senior fellow in foreign policy at Brookings Institution
- Consultant and speaker on global security and geopolitics
🔹 Panel 2: Confronting disinformation and exposing the axis of evil
Marcus Kolga
Digital communications and disinformation expert; human rights advocate
- Founder of DisinfoWatch
- Led Canadian campaign for Global Magnitsky legislation
- Frequent media commentator and policy advisor in Canada and internationally
David Kirichenko
Ukrainian-American journalist; Associate Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society
- Reported from frontline battles in Ukraine
- Authored “Lessons from the First Cyberwar” (2024)
- Focuses on digital resilience and cyber warfare strategy
Joe P. Lindsey (via zoom)
Journalist with the Ukraine Freedom Project; covering disinformation, resistance, and advocacy
🔹 Panel 3: Environmental Impact of War: addressing ecological destruction and developing strategies for sustainable rebuilding
Dr. Daniel Hryhorczuk
Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Illinois
- Over 20 years of public health work in Ukraine
- Lead researcher on war-related environmental damage (estimated $56.4 billion)
Dr. Timothy B. Erickson
Emergency Physician, Harvard Medical School / Brigham & Women’s Hospital
- Global expert on humanitarian health and environmental toxicology
- Leads health projects in Ukraine and Syria
- Focus on conflict-related ecological hazards and public health
🔹 Panel 4: Achieving Justice – War Crimes, Religious Persecution, and Historical Memory
Adrian Karatnycky
Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former President, Freedom House
- Longtime advocate for democracy and human rights in post-Soviet states
- Expert on political reform and freedom indices
- Frequent contributor to international media and policy forums
Volodymyr Viatrovych
Historian, author, Member of Parliament of Ukraine
- Key figure in declassifying Soviet KGB archives
- Author of bestselling book “Ukraine: KGB Secret Files History”
- Focuses on historical justice and collective memory
Elina Beketova
Non-resident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
- Former journalist in occupied Crimea
- Creator of the “Behind the Lines” project on occupied territories
- Advocate for media freedom and documentation of abuses
🔹 Panel 5: Building Global Community – From Local Action to International Cooperation
Sergio Jaramillo Caro
Former High Commissioner for Peace, Colombia
- Architect of Colombia’s peace process with FARC
- Former Ambassador to the EU and Belgium
- President of Fundación Acordemos – specializes in conflict resolution
Oleksandra Matviichuk
Human rights lawyer; Head of Center for Civil Liberties (Nobel Peace Prize 2022)
- Leads human rights monitoring and legal reform initiatives in Ukraine
- Coordinates international solidarity and accountability efforts
- Prominent advocate for OSCE-region democracy and justice