International Scientific Congress "Public Administration of the XXI Century: Peculiarities of the War and Post-War Periods"

On April 27, the XXIII International Scientific Congress "Public Administration of the XXI Century: Peculiarities of the War and Post-War Periods" was held at the Institute of Public Administration.

This year the Congress brought together representatives of Ukrainian scientific schools from more than 30 leading higher education institutions, scholars from Germany, the United States of America, Poland, Israel, Estonia, Serbia, as well as civil servants, local government officials, and representatives of public organizations.

At the plenary session, moderated by Acting Director of the Institute of Public Administration Liudmyla Bielova, the participants were welcomed by Anton Panteleimonov, Vice-Rector for Research and Teaching of Karazin University, Oleksii Lytvynov, Director of the Department of Science and Education of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Liner Martin, Director of the Center for Reconciliation Studies at Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Jena, Germany), Ivar Tallo, member of the Supervisory Board of the Estonian Academy of E-Governance, Piotr Dobosz, Deputy Dean of the School of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland).

The importance of uniting efforts around the study of public administration issues was emphasized today by Larysa Komakha, Director of the Educational and Research Institute of Public Administration and Civil Service of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Mykola Izha, Director of the Educational and Research Institute of Public Service and Management of the National University "Odesa Polytechnic", Yevhen Borodin, Director of the Educational and Research Institute of Public Administration of the National Technical University "Dnipro Polytechnic", and others.

The speech of Karazin scholars who are defending our country today, in particular, Oleksandr Vasylkivskyi, the postgraduate student of the Department of Law and European Integration, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was very emotional. The opening of this year’s congress started with the anthem of Ukraine performed by Volodymyr Kozlov, Honored Artist of Ukraine, soloist of the Mykola Lysenko Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.

Vyacheslav Dziundziuk, Head of the Department of Public Policy at the Institute of Public Administration, presented a poster entitled "Irrational Causes of the Russian-Ukrainian War". After the plenary session, the congress continued with discussion in thematic groups.

The discussion group "Public Policy and Governance in the Context of Hybrid Threats" was attended by foreign and Ukrainian scholars, postgraduate and doctoral students, and civil servants. The presentations included ensuring the information and financial security of the state in a hybrid war, mechanisms of public authorities in wartime, and protection of human rights. Public authorities highlighted the problems of restoring de-occupied communities, and emphasized the need for psychological rehabilitation for children and families with children who have suffered mental trauma as a result of being under temporary occupation. The speeches aroused interest and active discussion among the participants.

The discussion group "Development of the Public Administration and Public Service System in Ukraine: Challenges Caused by the War" was attended by 14 scholars 5 out of which spoke in English, including a report by a scholar from Israel on "Innovative Platforms in the Global Labor Market".

The reports were presented by scholars from higher education institutions, representatives of local governments of Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Kirovohrad regions, as well as territorial communities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Ternopil. The topics of the reports covered the following issues: modernization of public administration on Ukraine’s path to EU membership; management of the development of the medical evacuation system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in accordance with NATO standards; the public and the government: communication challenges in times of war; the problem of institutional imbalances in the public administration system in Ukraine, etc.

The third discussion group, "Public Administration of Economic and Digital Modernization of Society", received 65 abstracts from participants and scholars from Ukraine and Europe. 43 participants took part in the discussion. Researchers from the University of Luxembourg, Lutsk National Technical University, Vernadskyi Taurida National University, National Scientific Center "Institute of Forensic Expertise named after Prof. Bakarius", Sumy National Agrarian University, as well as representatives of the State Treasury Service and the international Community of St. Egidio in Ivano-Frankivsk made presentations with high relevance to the subject.

When closing the congress discussions, the congress recommendations were adopted. The collection of abstracts, as the main scientific achievement of the congress, will be made publicly available.