Munich Security Conference 2025: Ukrainian cultural events
Several official external events with a Ukraine connection are taking place as part of the 2025 Munich Security Conference. The highlights include three panel discussions and the German premiere of the film “Malevych”, which highlights the life and work of the artist Kasymyr Malewytsch.
Additionally, the rally “DEFEND Ukraine. DEFEND Europe. DEFEND Democracy” will be held.
14 February
Panel Discussion I
“Western Strategy for Ukraine: Ways Out of the War”
17:00 – 18:30, Künstlerhaus Munich
Description: More details will follow soon.
Organizers: Ukrainian Free University, Center for Liberal Modernity, Denkraum Ukraine, Reutlinger Kollegium.
Panel Discussion II
“Is Europe ready to defend its freedom? Culture as a form of resistance”
18:45 – 19:45, Künstlerhaus Munich
Speakers: Maksym Butkevych (Ukrainian journalist, human rights activist, former political prisoner), Professor Martin Aust (the Univesity of Bonn), and Fabian Mühlthaler (head of the Goethe Institute in Ukraine). Moderator: Sofia Pavlenko (project manager by Youth Bridge, European Janusz Korczak Academy).
Description: The discussion will focus on topics such as how the Russian war against Ukraine is affecting society and culture, the extent to which culture has the right to be political, and what role artists play in resistance.
Organizers: Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Thomas Dehler Foundation, Goethe Institute Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Consulate Munich, Fellas for Europe e.V., European Janusz Korczak Academy, Big Hand Films, Artwinery Ukraine.
Panel Discussion III
“The role of culture in hybrid wars. Malevych Case – refuting the myths of Russian propaganda”
20:00 – 21:00, Künstlerhaus Munich
Speakers: Timothy Snyder (Professor of History at Yale University), Tetiana Filevska (creative director of the Ukrainian Institute), and Roman Haller (writer, Holocaust survivor). Moderator: Historian Dr. Franziska Davies.
Description: The main topics of discussion will be Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine and Europe, alongside its war of aggression using military means, as well as Russia’s appropriation of Ukrainian artists and its propagandistic myths that target Ukrainian culture.
Organizers: Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Thomas Dehler Foundation, Goethe Institute Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Consulate Munich, Fellas for Europe e.V., European Janusz Korczak Academy, Big Hand Films, Artwinery Ukraine.
15 February
“Munich Security Conference Rally – DEFEND Ukraine. DEFEND Europe. DEFEND Democracy”
13:00 – 17:00, Odeonsplatz, Munich
Description: The rally takes place every year since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion. Among the speakers – leading German, Ukrainian and European politicians, guests of the Security Conference.
Organizers: Ukrainian Gromada Munich, Fellas for Europe, Activists for Ukraine in Munich, supported by all German democratic parties.
Premiere of the feature film “MALEVYCH”
(Daria Onyshchenko, feature film, 2024, Ukraine, Italy, Serbia, Switzerland)
19:00, Royal Film Palast, Munich
Description:Filmscreening, which will be followed by the Q§A with the director Daria Onyshchenko and creative producer Tetyana Filevska. The film depicts a kaleidoscope of events from the life of the world-famous, charismatic Ukrainian artist Kazimir Malevych, who fights alone against the Soviet authorities for the right to create “free” art. MALEVYCH is one of the very few feature films produced in Ukraine during the first year of full-scale Russian invasion.
Organizers: Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Thomas Dehler Foundation, Goethe Institute Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Consulate Munich, Fellas for Europe e.V, Big Hand Films, Artwinery Ukraine.