Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre - MacEwan University

A historic gathering is once again bringing together voices, knowledge systems and experiences from Crimean Tatar communities, Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (Canada) and Ukraine🌐

Now in its second year, this International Summer Institute continues to create a rare and meaningful space where relationships are strengthened across continents and generations. This year's conversations have been rich with insight, generosity and reflection. Participants have engaged in thoughtful exchanges about the challenges and possibilities facing their communities, the responsibilities of carrying knowledge forward, and the role of Indigenous perspectives in shaping more just and sustainable futures.

The continued collaboration between Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre - MacEwan University, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, MacEwan University kihêw waciston, The Faculty of Native Studies (University of Alberta), Центр «Кримські cтудії» Києво-Могилянської академії (Crimean Studies Center of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Şefika Gaspıralı Uluslararası Kadın Birliği, Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Resmi Sayfa demonstrates the power of bringing diverse voices together in a spirit of mutual respect and learning.

As new connections are forged and existing relationships deepen, this initiative reminds us that meaningful change begins with conversation, and that some of the most important conversations are those that create bridges where none existed before.

We are honoured to be part of this growing international community and look forward to the ideas, partnerships and friendships that will continue to emerge from this remarkable gathering.

Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre - MacEwan University, in collaboration with Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Центр «Кримські cтудії» Києво-Могилянської академії and Şefika Gaspıralı Uluslararası Kadın Birliği have officially launched The Meeting Point: Turtle Island and Qırım Indigenous Epistemologies International Summer Institute in Tekirdağ, Türkiye🌍

This June, scholars, Knowledge Keepers and community leaders from Ukraine, Canada, Türkiye, Germany and Great Britain have come together to create a space where diverse histories, lived experiences and knowledge systems can meet in respectful dialogue.

The Meeting Point is more than a gathering - it is a space for listening, reflection and relationship-building. It's a place where we learn from and with one another, where meaningful connections are formed, and where new possibilities for collaborative scholarship, community engagement and shared futures can emerge. Through these conversations, we hope to deepen mutual understanding and cultivate partnerships that will continue long after this week has ended.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Resmi Sayfa for its warm hospitality and partnership in hosting this important gathering. Thank you as well to all participants, partners, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, scholars, students and community members who have joined us in this dialogue.

The conversation has begun!

Representing MacEwan University are Larysa Hayduk, Lindsey Whitson, Shelby LaFramboise, and Etienna Moostoos-Lafferty.

This Summer Institute is a collaborative initiative of MacEwan University (Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre - MacEwan University and MacEwan University kihêw waciston Indigenous Centre), the University of Alberta (The Faculty of Native Studies) and Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Resmi Sayfa.

We are delighted to announce that acclaimed Ukrainian film producer, Anna Palenchuk, has been named MacEwan University's 2026–2027 Gene Zwozdesky Artist in Residence🎬

As an internationally recognized producer and cultural leader, Anna has helped bring Ukrainian stories to audiences around the world. During her residency, she will develop a powerful new documentary project while engaging with students, faculty and the broader community through creative collaborations. At a time when Ukrainian voices and experiences are more important than ever, we are honoured to welcome Anna to MacEwan and look forward to the insight and inspiration she will bring to campus.

Read the full announcement:
🔗

Announcing the new Gene Zwozdesky Artist in Residence Palenchuk is the co-founder of the Ukrainian production company 435 Films in Kyiv and Be Brave Films in Toronto. She has produced award-winning documentaries and feature films that have premiered at prestigious festivals including Cannes, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and DOC NYC.

We’re pleased to share that discounted registration rates are now available for students and low-income attendees for the Fifty Years of All of Baba’s Children Symposium:

purchase.macewan.ca/EventAvailability?EventId=2401

Join us for a day of discussion and reflection marking fifty years of All of Baba’s Children and celebrating the work and legacy of Myrna Kostash.

🗓 Saturday, July 11, 2026
📍 Allard Hall, MacEwan University (11110 104 Ave NW)
⏰ 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM

Registration and additional information are available here:

sites.google.com/macewan.ca/aobcsymposium/home

Dr. Serhiy Yakovenko, professor in MacEwan University’s Department of English and a valued member of Team Ukraїna, has been announced as one of the next TUSI instructors. His work in comparative literature, translation and Ukrainian cultural studies continues to build important bridges between Ukraine and the world.

Congratulations to Dr. Yakovenko on this well-deserved recognition. We’re proud to have him representing both MacEwan and the Ukrainian community in Canada on the international stage 🇺🇦🌎

Building on the foundation laid during the 2025 Transatlantic Workshop, our international partnership is entering its second year through a collaboration together with Crimean Tatar, Turkish and Ukrainian colleagues.

From June 9–12, 2026, "The Meeting Point: Turtle Island and Qırım Indigenous Epistemologies" Summer Institute will bring together Indigenous scholars, knowledge keepers and community partners in Tekirdağ, Türkiye, to continue an ongoing dialogue. The Institute creates space to reflect on how Indigenous Studies in Canada, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, relationality and responsibility, and Crimean Tatar scholarship, shaped through displacement, resilience and the ongoing occupation of Crimea, can speak to one another across histories, geographies and cultural contexts.

Over four days, participants will engage with questions of Indigenous knowledge, sovereignty, language revitalization, cultural continuance, memory and decolonial research practices. Through presentations, conversations, community engagement and shared experiences, the Institute aims to foster meaningful relationships and explore what it means to pursue indigeneity within transnational and international contexts.

This initiative is organized in collaboration with Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre - MacEwan University, MacEwan University kihêw waciston, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and The Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Resmi Sayfa, Şefika Gaspıralı Uluslararası Kadın Birliği.

Celebrate 50 years of "All of Baba’s Children" with us at a special one-day symposium honouring acclaimed Ukrainian Canadian writer Myrna Kostash at MacEwan University on July 11, 2026!

The symposium program features a full day of conversations, presentations and community engagement exploring the lasting impact of "All of Baba’s Children" and Myrna Kostash’s contributions to Ukrainian Canadian literature, identity and history.

Early Bird registration is now open until the end of the day on June 1! Cost includes continental breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch from Don'ya Ukraine’s Kitchen.

View the full program and register here:
🎟️ https://purchase.macewan.ca/EventAvailability?EventId=2401
🔗https://sites.google.com/macewan.ca/aobcsymposium/home

We hope you’ll join us for this exciting and meaningful event!

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the St. John’s Legacy Foundation, TYC-Ukrainian Self Reliance Association of Canada (Edmonton Branch), The Ed Stelmach Community Foundation, Ukrainian Foundation for College Education (UFCE), the UFCE Trust, the Alberta Ukrainian Commemorative Society (AUCS) and DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen whose longstanding commitment to education, scholarship and Ukrainian Canadian cultural life has made this event possible.

On May 18, we remember the victims of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatar people - a tragedy that continues to echo today under Russia’s occupation of Crimea.

Read this important article from the Ukrainian World Congress on why Crimea and the Crimean Tatar people must remain part of our global advocacy, remembrance and fight for justice:

Remembering the Crimean Tatar deportation On the eve of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls on Ukrainian communities around the world to keep Crimea and the Crimean Tatars present in their work, advocacy efforts and public events.