Stanford University

The Future of Ukrainian Democracy after Elections: Successes and Challenges

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After the events of the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine made a decisive historic choice in its shift towards democracy, notwithstanding current threats to security and sovereignty from Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Due to these circumstances, Ukraine is on the frontline of democracy between Russia and the West. In 2019, Ukrainians are facing major decisions in their country’s democratic development with the presidential and parliamentary elections. During the 2019 Presidential elections Ukrainians elected Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former actor with no political background, with 73% of the vote. The more important Parliamentary elections are yet to come in the fall, and the resulting coalition will shape the future government.

In light of the elections the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law has gathered DC-based policy makers, high-level Ukrainian state officials and parliamentarians to discuss lessons that should be learned from the presidential elections, and what can we take away looking toward the October 2019 parliamentary elections.

The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law has organized a conference on these political developments to discuss pertinent policy issues that will affect Ukraine’s future. This conference reflects how UELP fellows are creating an important place for conversation on global development and Ukraine at Stanford University by raising key questions about the country’s future direction. They are also providing knowledge to their own community by connecting stakeholders in Ukraine to resources at Stanford and Silicon Valley.

 

 

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Panels will include the following: 

9:15-10:45 Reforms in Ukraine

Since the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has been scrutinized for its record on implementing reforms. However, in the past five years there have been many more success stories than in the history of Ukrainian independence prior to 2014. This panel will explore some of the most successful reforms in post-Maidan Ukraine, such as steps taken to improve the health care system, economics, and anti-corruption efforts. Please join the discussion on Reforms Panel Moderated by former Ambassador Steven Pifer with the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Oleksandra Saenko, Acting Minister of Health of Ukraine Dr. Ulana Suprun,  Member of the Ukrainian Parliament Mustafa Nayem and the Ukrainian Emerging Leader Fellows at Stanford – Natalia Mykolska, former Trade Representative of Ukraine and Oleksandra Ustinova, former Board Member of the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Ukraine.


11:00-12:30 Church and Identity

On January 5, 2019 the tomos of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was signed, thus granting independence for the Ukrainian church, after centuries of subjugation to Russia. This was a historic move for Ukraine on many levels, from its cultural significance to its role in fighting Russian propaganda as the churches under the Moscow Patriarchate were massively used for propaganda  Since then, at least 340 parishes that were formerly under the Moscow Patriarchate have joined with the newly independent church. The creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a watershed moment in the global understanding of Ukrainian identity. 


12:30-2:00 Luncheon: New Faces in Ukrainian Politics

In light of the upcoming 2019 parliamentary elections you will have the opportunity to meet representatives from major political parties and movements who are considered up and coming reformers in Ukraine. The goal is to engage parliamentarians and others in a discussion about the future of Ukrainian political development. Stanford will bring together reform-minded stakeholders from prominent political parties that will be contending in the October 2019 parliamentary elections so that a multitude of opinions can be voiced and debated.


2:15-3:45 Security and Foreign Policy

One of the largest challenges Ukraine’s next president will face is the security of the country against Russian aggression. The 2018 Kerch Strait incident not only demonstrated the relentlessness of Russia’s continued incursions on Ukrainian sovereignty, but raised questions as to how Ukraine and the West should act in light of such attacks. Whoever wins the spring 2019 presidential elections will face important strategic decisions in the war effort and cooperation with international allies.


4:00-5:30 Tech & Innovation: Shaping Ukrainian Future

IT industry is a growth engine of Ukraine’s economy. Ukraine IT outsourcing industry is a globally recognized leader. Tech ventures working with enterprise software, ML / AI, cyber security, life-science, big data management, gaming, agribusiness and e-commerce. Exports of Ukrainian ICT services is the third largest export sector showing constant growth. Foreign investments into the industry are increasing ($285 mln in 2018). Moreover, the number of SMEs tech companies is growing as well (4,000+ IT companies). Furthermore, from year to year the number of successful tech ventures with Ukrainian founding teams and R&D offices in Silicon Valley is increasing. Ukraine has the largest and fastest-growing engineering talent pool in Europe with 160,000 specialists in 2018 and 242,000 prognosis by 2025. The country’s universities and polytechnic institutes graduate over 100,000 new engineers annually incl. 23000+ IT graduates.

 

 

 

 

Koret-Taube Conference Center
366 Galvez Street
Stanford, CA 94305

 

Conferences
CDDRL Conferences

Kleptocracy: A Discussion with Charles Davidson, Jeffrey Gedmin, and Oleksandra Ustinova

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Kleptocracy--well-organized elite corruption--has come to characterize Russia and much of the post-Communist space and is one of the chief obstacles to democratic development as well as economic growth in Russia and Ukraine. This panel features three experts who have focused on anti-corruption measures in these countries and will discuss the origins, effects, and future of kleptocracy in the region.

Speakers:

Charles Davidson, the publisher of The American Interest and Director of The Kleptocracy Initiative at the George Mason School of Public Policy.

Jeffrey Gedmin, the editor of The American Interest, who previously was president of the Legatum Institute in London and of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe in Prague.

Oleksandra Ustinova, Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Fellow 2019 and a leading Ukrainian anti-corruption activist for a conversation on kleptocracy in Russia and Ukraine and how it is abetted by American institutions.

Moderator: Francis Fukuyama, CDDRL Mosbacher Director and FSI Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow.

Watch the video here.

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The Cyber Security Threat: Lessons Learned from Devastating Attacks in Ukraine and the US

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Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of cyber attacks originating in Russia that target the United States, European Union and EU member-states.  In Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine—a conflict that has claimed some 13,000 lives—Russia has employed cyber tactics on a regular basis, including release against Ukraine of the Petya and NotPetya viruses.

Those attacks had consequences far beyond Ukraine’s borders.  The NonPetya attack, initiated against a small tech firm in Ukraine, spread to global businesses and government agencies throughout Europe and crossed the Atlantic to the United States.  The West should closely examine the Ukrainian experience, as Russia perfects tactics that could be turned against Europe and the United States as well.

Improving the security of the Internet will require sharing knowledge and experience, promoting greater awareness on cyber security, developing cyber security capacities, and deepening communication and cooperation among different stakeholders.  The Panel will discuss the nature of the threat as well as what governments, international organizations and businesses should do in these areas.

Speaker Bios:

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Alex Stamos is a cybersecurity expert, business leader and entrepreneur working to improve the security and safety of the Internet through his teaching and research at Stanford University. Stamos is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s Freeman-Spogli Institute, a William J. Perry Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, and a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution. Prior to joining Stanford, Alex served as the Chief Security Officer of Facebook. In this role, Stamos led a team of engineers, researchers, investigators and analysts charged with understanding and mitigating information security risks to the company and safety risks to the 2.5 billion people on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. During his time at Facebook, he led the company’s investigation into manipulation of the 2016 US election and helped pioneer several successful protections against these new classes of abuse. As a senior executive, Alex represented Facebook and Silicon Valley to regulators, lawmakers and civil society on six continents, and has served as a bridge between the interests of the Internet policy community and the complicated reality of platforms operating at billion-user scale.

oleh derevianko
Oleh Derevianko is a business and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Board of ISSP — Information Systems Security Partners — a private international cybersecurity company founded in Ukraine in 2008 and currently operating in seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Middle Asia. Having a strong presence in the countries at the front line of cyber and hybrid war, such as Ukraine, and serving both private and public sectors, ISSP provides unique expertise for APT attacks analysis, detection and response. Derevianko is also a co-founder of International Cyber Academy (Kyiv), which provides worldclass learning opportunities for students who want to become skilled professionals in a world that depends on the use of cyberspace. In 2015–2016 he served as Deputy Minister, Chief of Staff at Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. 

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Dr. Sarah Lewis Cortes has managed Security at American Express, Putnam Investments, Fidelity, and Biogen, among others. A postoctoral researcher at ACSO Digital Crime Lab, she performs training and consultation with the FBI and Interpol. She earned her degrees at Harvard University and Northeastern, and her research focuses on threat intelligence and the darknet, privacy and privacy law, international criminal legal treaties (MLATs), and digital forensics. At Putnam Investments, which manages over $1.3 trillion in assets, Sarah was SVP, Security. She oversaw Putnam’s recovery on 9/11 when parent company Marsh & McLennan’s World Trade Center 99th floor data center was destroyed.

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Jason Min is the Head of Business Development at Check Point Software Technologies. In this role he sources, evaluates, and executes M&A transactions. Jason is responsible for overseeing business development and sale enablement activities that involve Check Point technology partners. Since joining Check Point in 2014, Jason has contributed to the success of Check Point’s major acquisitions and partnership growth. Prior to joining Check Point, Jason was at Highland Capital, a global venture capital firm, where he sourced and executed investments in security and software companies. Before working at Highland Capital, Jason was at General Atlantic, a $28B global private equity firm, where he focused on security and software investments across all stages of company growth.

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Dafina Toncheva invests in emerging technologies in the enterprise space with focus on Enterprise SaaS applications and security. Dafina joined USVP in 2012 and has led investments in and joined the boards of InsideSales.com, Apptimize, Luma Health, Arkose Labs and Raken. Most recently, Dafina served on the board of Prevoty, a leader in application security, who was acquired by Imperva where USVP was the lead investor and largest shareholder. Prior to joining USVP, Dafina was a principal investor with Tugboat Ventures since 2010. Before that, she spent two years at Venrock helping to expand the firm’s investments in SaaS, virtualization, security, infrastructure and enterprise applications. Dafina led the first institutional investment round in Cloudflare which has since transformed into one of the most successful Internet security startups in Silicon Valley. 

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Nataliya Mykolska is the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Fellow at Stanford Center for Democracy Development and Rule of Law. Before coming to Stanford Nataliya was the Trade Representative of Ukraine - Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. In the government, Nataliya was responsible for developing and implementing consistent, predictable and efficient trade policy. She focused on export strategy and Ukrainian exportpromotion, free trade agreements, protecting Ukrainian trade interests in the World Trade Organization (WTO), dialogue with Ukrainian exporters. Nataliya was the Vice-Chair of the International Trade Council and the Intergovernmental Committee on International Trade.

Moderator: 

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Steven Pifer is a William J. Perry fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), where he is affiliated with FSI’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and Europe Center.  He is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Brookings Institution. A retired Foreign Service officer, Pifer’s more than 25 years with the State Department focused on U.S. relations with the former Soviet Union and Europe, as well as arms control and security issues.  He served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibilities for Russia and Ukraine (2001-2004), ambassador to Ukraine (1998-2000), and special assistant to the president and senior director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia on the National Security Council (1996-1997).  

Kleptocracy: A Discussion with Charles Davidson, Jeffrey Gedmin, and Oleksandra Ustinova

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Kleptocracy--well-organized elite corruption--has come to characterize Russia and much of the post-Communist space, and is one of the chief obstacles to democratic development as well as economic growth in Russia and Ukraine.  This panel will feature three experts who have focused on anti-corruption measures in these countries, and will discuss the origins, effects, and future of kleptocracy in the region.

Please join Charles Davidson, the publisher of The American Interest and Director of The Kleptocracy Initiative at the George Mason School of Public Policy, Jeffrey Gedmin, the editor of The American Interest, who previously was president of the Legatum Institute in London and of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe in Prague and Oleksandra Ustinova, Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Fellow 2019 and a leading Ukrainian anti-corruptian activist for a conversation on kleptocracy in Russia and Ukraine and how it is abetted by American institutions. The discussion will be moderated by Francis Fukuyama, CDDRL Mosbacher Director and FSI Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow. 


This event is co-sponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, The Humanities Center, The Europe Center and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. 

charles davidson
Charles Davidson is Publisher of The American Interest magazine (co-founded with Francis Fukuyama in 2005), and Senior Policy Fellow, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.  Since 2006, co-founder of Global Financial Integrity, one of the founders of the FACT Coalition, Executive Producer of Sundance documentary We’re Not Broke, and until recently Executive Director of the Kleptocracy Initiative at Hudson Institute. The Kleptocracy Initiative has published a quiver of reports focusing on the civilizational threats we face from the marriage of authoritarianism and kleptocracy. The Kleptocracy Initiative engaged in a broad set of activities for a think tank program, from organizing the first “Klepto Tours” of London, to the premiere of “From Russia with Cash” in DC, the dubbing of a Russian documentary explaining Putin’s rise to power, the establishment of an extensive archive of primary source material, hosting many events, and serving as a platform for anti-kleptocracy convening and information sharing.  Regarding the national security threats associated with kleptocracy, Davidson has testified to the Senate Committee of the Judiciary, the Helsinki Commission, and the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats. Prior to 2006, Davidson spent his career in the information technology industry, in various technical/managerial positions, as CIO of a large pan-European logistics company, and in a venture capital partnership until 2008.  Bowdoin College 1981, B.A.  Duke University 1988, MBA
 
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Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin is editor-in-chief of The American Interest, a publication of politics, public policy, and international affairs. From 2015 to 2018, he was senior adviser at Blue Star Strategies. From 2011 to 2014, Gedmin was President and CEO of the London-based Legatum Institute. Prior to joining the Legatum Institute in early 2011, Gedmin served for four years as President and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) headquartered in Prague. Before RFE/RL, Gedmin served as President and CEO of the Aspen Institute in Berlin. Before that, he was Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, D.C and Executive Director of the New Atlantic Initiative. He is the author/editor of several books, including The Hidden Hand: Gorbachev and the Collapse of East Germany (1992).Gedmin also served as co-executive producer for two major PBS documentaries: "The Germans, Portrait of a New Nation" (1995), and "Spain's 9/11 and the Challenge of Radical Islam in Europe" (2007).  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on several advisory boards, including Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service Masters Program, the Institute for State Effectiveness, the Kleptocracy Initiative (based at the Hudson Institute), the International Republican Institute’s Beacon Project, the Justice for Journalists Foundation, and the Tocqueville Conversations. Together with former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Norm Eisen, Gedmin is co-chair of the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group.
 
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Oleksandra Ustinova is the head of communications and Anti-Corruption in HealthCare Projects at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ANTAC), in Kyiv, Ukraine. ANTAC is one of the leading watchdog organizations on anti-corruption reform in Ukraine and was one of the founders of new anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine. Serving as a communication and advocacy expert over the last 10 years, Ustinova has successfully advocated for more than 20 national laws. Among them are laws that established new anticorruption and investigative bodies, that now investigate more than 500 criminal cases against politicians including Members of Parliament, Ministers, heads of the Central Election Committee, and the head of the tax service. Ustinova was the first Secretary of the Civil Oversight Council of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU)  - the first independent anti-corruption law enforcement institution in Ukraine. At ANTAC, Ustinova also manages the project “Anti-Corruption in Healthcare” and in 2015 advocated changes to the legislation so all medicine in Ukraine is procured via international organizations. As a result of this legislation, Ukraine has saved up to 40 percent of the state budget for medicine procurement each year.

 

Levinthal Hall, The Humanities Center

Frontline Battles for Civil Rights and LGBT+ Equality: Breaking Myths

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Recent decades of rapid social transformations across the globe provoked tectonic shifts: minorities are more visible than ever, equality movements spread across many borders and historic milestones were achieved. However, the same globalization processes allowed hate groups to become smarter, more effective and coordinate globally. "Transborder Hate Movements" is new, but overlooked phenomenon of internationally organized effort by vast spectrum of hate groups utilizing politics and disinformation to trump equality movements all across emerging democracies and in the Global South. It is also a strengthening ideology binding millions from Russia to the US and from Brazil to Uganda. Breaking myths about what an actual frontline against civil rights inequality really looks like in 2019 is key for figuring out an adequate response. First step would be to realize that global fight against homophobia won't be winnable without fully addressing civil rights inequality in the West.
 
 

Speaker Bio:

eristavi
Maxim Eristavi is the only openly gay journalist coming from Ukraine, one of the few in Eastern Europe. Self-described 'bridge-builder', his work concentrates on amplifying and explaining stories from global frontline battles for equal human and civil rights. He is a research fellow with the Atlantic Council, a DC-based foreign policy think-tank; co-founder of the Russian Language News Exchange, the biggest support network for independent journalism in Eastern Europe; policy adviser at the European Parliament; writer for Washington Post, Politico, Foreign Policy, among others and sits on the managing board of Kyiv Pride, the biggest pride event in the post-Soviet space. Eristavi is a 2015 Poynter fellow at Yale University with a focus on informational wars and pan-regional LGBTI civil rights movements. Find out more at maximeristavi.com
 

 

Seminars

Nataliya Mykolska

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Visiting Practitioner, Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program 2018-19
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Nataliya Mykolska is the Trade Representative of Ukraine - Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. In the government, Mykolska is responsible for developing and implementing consistent, predictable and efficient trade policy. She focuses on export strategy and promotion, building an effective system of state support for Ukrainian exports, free trade agreements, protecting Ukrainian trade interests in the World Trade Organization (WTO), dialogue with Ukrainian exporters, and removing trade barriers. Mykolska is the Vice-Chair of the International Trade Council and the Intergovernmental Committee on International Trade.   In her position, Mykolska developed and adopted the first ever Export Strategy of Ukraine: Strategic Trade Development Roadmap of Ukraine for 2017-2021. She has concluded and launched free trade agreements with Canada and Israel, and initiated additional trade preferences by the EU. Due to her efforts, Ukraine has started actively using WTO mechanisms and procedures. Moreover, the Ministry initiated WTO proceedings against Russia in response to trade aggression. Mykolska established the Export Promotion Office at the Ministry to assist Ukrainian business, help them succeed on international markets and open new markets.   Mykolska has fifteen years of experience working as a legal counsel with a focus on international trade including WTO and free trade agreements, trade financing, cross-border trade transactions and contracts, franchising and other areas. Mykolska worked with governmental institutions to bring Ukraine in compliance with international obligations, including the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. She has been recognized as the No. 1 International Trade lawyer by Ukrainian Law Firms, and was recommended by the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers and the International Who's Who of Trade & Customs Lawyers.   Mykolska graduated from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv Faculty of Law in 2001, and completed her Master of European Studies Program at the Europa-Kolleg-Hamburg in 2002.  

Oleksandra Ustinova

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Visiting Scholar, Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, 2018-19
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Oleksandra Ustinova is the head of communications and Anti-Corruption in HealthCare Projects at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ANTAC), in Kyiv, Ukraine. ANTAC is one of the leading watchdog organizations on anti-corruption reform in Ukraine and was one of the founders of new anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine.   Serving as a communication and advocacy expert over the last 10 years, Ustinova has successfully advocated for more than 20 national laws. Among them are laws that established new anticorruption and investigative bodies, that now investigate more than 500 criminal cases against politicians including Members of Parliament, Ministers, heads of the Central Election Committee, and the head of the tax service. Ustinova was the first Secretary of the Civil Oversight Council of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU)  - the first independent anti-corruption law enforcement institution in Ukraine. At ANTAC, Ustinova also manages the project “Anti-Corruption in Healthcare” and in 2015 advocated changes to the legislation so all medicine in Ukraine is procured via international organizations. As a result of this legislation, Ukraine has saved up to 40 percent of the state budget for medicine procurement each year.   Ustinova is an author and anchor of the investigative TV program called “Expensive Healthcare” on the TV-channel 24. She runs her own column on corruption in the Ukrainian healthcare system in one of the top media sites, Ukrainska Pravda. Before joining ANTAC, Ustinova worked as a consultant for the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) on Healthcare Reform in Ukraine, the All Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV,  Patients of Ukraine, and managed communications in national advocacy campaigns for reduction of tobacco use    Ustinova has an MA in Political Science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.  

Ivan Prymachenko

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Visiting Scholar, Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, 2018-19
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Ivan Prymachenko is an educational technology innovator and a co-founder of the largest Ukrainian massive open online courses platform Prometheus with 600,000 users. Structured as a non-profit organization, Prometheus creates and publish on its platform massive online courses from leading Ukrainian universities, companies, international organizations, and government. Prometheus also works on making its online courses a part of the curriculum of Ukrainian educational facilities in the blended learning format: twenty-two Ukrainian universities are already participating in this program. In addition, Prymachenko is a lead educational expert in the largest NGO coalition in Ukraine, the Reanimation Package of Reforms, the most influential non-governmental reform advocate in the country.    In 2011, Prymachenko saw the first massive open online courses launched by Stanford and was inspired to create similar courses in Ukraine. In 2013, while still pursuing a master’s degree, he launched the first massive open online course in post-soviet countries. In 2014, Prymachenko co-founded Prometheus and initially funded the project with six months' of his university scholarship. In four years, the volunteer initiative grew into one of the largest educational projects in independent Ukraine’s history. To date, the platform hosts 75 massive online courses from top-rated Ukrainian universities, international organizations such as United Nations Development Program, the Council of Europe, OSCE, and leading companies — Microsoft Ukraine and EY Ukraine. To support the implementation of key Ukrainian reforms, such as the public procurement system - Prozorro, Prometheus worked with the state authorities to create several governmental massive online courses and enrolled tens of thousands of civil servants as students.  

Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program Launches Application for 2018-19

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The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University is proud to announce the beginning of the second application season for the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program.

The program provides the opportunity for three mid-career professionals to spend ten months at one of the best universities in the world. The application is open to those who are actively working as policy-makers, legal experts, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders. The participants will be mentored by Francis Fukuyama, Stephen Krasner, Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner.

Candidates will be selected based on their achievements, contributions to their professional sphere and their proposed project idea. The goal of the program is for participants to strengthen their leadership skills, deepen their understanding and create connections that will help them contribute to the democratic, political and social development of Ukraine and the region upon their return. In fall 2018 the second cohort of the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program will begin their 10-month immersion in Stanford’s academic environment. Each participant will receive a stipend for the fellowship period, which provides for academic resources, relocation expenses and living expenses in the Bay Area.

This year’s application has two stages. For the first stage interested candidates must submit a pre-screen questionnaire by January 17, 2018.

More information can be found at this link. Candidates will find out about the second part of the application process in mid-February after an initial review of their pre-screen questionnaire.

 

Центр демократії, розвитку та верховенства права Стенфордського університету (CDDRL) з гордістю повідомляє про початок другого набору стипендіатів практичної програми для лідерів з України “Ukrainian Emerging Leaders”.

Програма надає можливість провести 10 місяців у одному з найкращих університетів світу трьом професіоналам. До участі в конкурсі на здобуття стипендії запрошуються як представники державного сектору, так і ті, хто працює за його межами. Це насамперед люди, які активно залучені у створення політик, працюють у сфері права, підприємці, лідери громадянського суспільства. Менторами учасників стануть професори Френсіс Фукуяма, Стівен Краснер, Майкл Макфол та Кетрін Стонер.

Кандидатів відберуть на основі інформації про їх досягнення, внесок у професійну сферу та потенціалу запропонованого ними проекту. CDDRL сподівається, що завдяки цій програмі учасники зміцнять свої лідерські навички, поглиблять свої знання та зміцнять зв'язки, що допоможуть їм зробити вагомий внесок у демократичний, політичний і соціальний розвиток України та регіону після їх повернення до України. Вже восени 2018 року в межах The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program троє стипендіатів розпочнуть 10-місячне занурення в академічний світ Стенфорду. Кожен з учасників отримає стипендію, яка покриє їхнє перебування в Стенфорді. Окрім того програма покриває транспортні та деякі інші додаткові витрати.

Відбір учасників проходитиме у два етапи. На першому етапі зацікавлені кандидати повинні подати скорочену заявку до 17 січня 2018 р за цією адресою (детальні інструкції можна прочитати за цим лінком). Про відбір до другого етапу кандидати будуть повідомлені додатково електронною поштою після аналізу їх заявки.

 

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Stanford University Launches Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program

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Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) launched the inaugural Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program to an audience of over 200 from the Stanford and local Ukrainian-American community on Oct. 3, 2017. The opening event featured the visiting practitioners - Olexandr Starodubtsev, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Dmytro Romanovych - who were joined by CDDRL’s Visiting Scholar Sviatoslav Vakarchuk in conversation with former ambassador to Russia and Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Michael McFaul.

 

The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program provides a unique opportunity to three mid-career professionals from Ukraine to study at Stanford University for the 2017-18 academic year. Sponsored by the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), Tomas Fiala, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk and Astem.Foundation, the Program combines coursework, mentorship, and community engagement to support capacity-building and leadership development for emerging leaders who want to make substantial contributions to Ukraine’s political development. The end goal is for each of the practitioners to return to Ukraine with an implementable project that will support democratic development and institution-building in the country.

In his opening remarks, Francis Fukuyama, the Mosbacher Director of CDDRL, discussed the importance of the program for Ukraine’s continuing struggle for democratic values. In particular he emphasized the need to train individuals to support sustainable reforms. “I do not think that a democratic revolution in a place like Ukraine will exist without cultivating a whole generation of reformers who want a different society,” he stated.

Jaroslawa Johnson, President and CEO of WNISEF explained the importance of the work the Fund has done in the region since the fall of the Soviet Union and independence of Ukraine, and why this program is a logical extension of WNISEF’s work. Johnson emphasized the importance of leadership development and investing in a new generation of leaders in Ukraine and Moldova. She continued to underscore how critical education is to Ukraine’s development, and that she hopes these three emerging leaders will use Stanford resources to support their work, return to Ukraine and contribute to the country’s future.

The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program received 340 applications in its pilot year, making the selection process highly competitive. Starodubtsev, Matviichuk, and Romanovych were selected for their contributions to Ukraine’s political development, their leadership potential and strong project proposals. They will take coursework, consult with academic mentors and build relationships across campus to test and refine their projects over the course of the academic year.

Starodubtsev is the founder of the electronic public procurement system, ProZorro, which many consider to be the most successful Ukrainian reform since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. During his time at Stanford, he plans to focus on expanding the ProZorro model for global use, and improving his own human resource management skills to advance public administration within the Ukrainian government.

Matviichuk is a human rights defender who created the civil initiative Euromaidan SOS, which responded to calls for help from victims on Maidan. She has continued to work on human rights issues since the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. Her goal for this year is to harness the remaining energy from the Revolution of Dignity to create a network of volunteers who will work to create sustainable reforms and institutions.

Romanovych, who works at the Reform Delivery Office, discussed his own role in delivering economic reforms since the 2014 revolution. In his role he has been responsible for deregulation reform and improving the business climate in Ukraine, resulting in the abolition of hundreds of Soviet regulations. His goal is to create a roadmap for future reforms, based on the success he has already had.

Vakarchuk summarized the challenges they face, emphasizing Ukraine’s need for a strong state and rule of law to create sustainable democracy and institutions. If Ukraine is able to make progress in these areas and make them work for everyone, the country will see serious improvement in its political development.

Despite focusing on three different areas of reform, the four panelists voiced common goals for Ukraine, the most urgent of which is improving trust in political institutions. Romanovych noted the active mobilization within Ukrainian society, but that there is still a need for strong political will and organization to put this energy into effective reforms. Matviichuk continued by warning against complacency and political apathy. Around the world there has been a strong trend of democratic backsliding. Ukraine is no exception, and cannot ignore these issues in the hope that they will disappear.

Some members of the audience expressed frustration with the current political situation in Ukraine in their questions to the panelists. But despite this pessimism, the young leaders voiced their hope and optimism. When asked about the issue of corruption - one that often seems hopeless - Starodubtsev pointed to his previous successes. Before the implementation of ProZorro, the public procurement system had been symbolic of the corruption that plagued Ukraine. But with Starodubtsev’s unique and innovative idea, he and his team were completely able to rebuild the existing infrastructure, resulting in a transparent system.

For Starodubtsev, this is the attitude that reformers need to take towards all positive political change in Ukraine: “we are the ones that can do reforms, we can deliver results, and we can change the political culture through our work.”

The gravity of their roles in the future of Ukraine’s democracy was clear. As McFaul put it, “Ukraine may be the frontline state in the battle for worldwide democracy. If you fail, other democrats will face more difficulties. Remember with incredible opportunity comes incredible responsibility.”

Vakarchuk was more optimistic, not only about Ukraine’s future, but the program’s impact; “I’m convinced that these people - along with those from future cohorts of this program - will become the ones who will build a Ukraine all of us will be proud of,” he said.

With this introduction to the Stanford community Starodubtsev, Matviichuk and Romanovych have been met with high expectations in regards to their future impact on Ukraine. But this is a challenge they are all prepared, and eager, to meet.

An edited version of this piece originally appeared on the  Atlantic Council's UkraineAlert blog.  It was republished by the  KyivPost. 

 

 

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