A CIVIL CONVERSATION FOR UNCIVIL TIMES

Open Conversations

We bring to Odessa public conversations that follow the ancient principle of parrhesia — fearless, frank speech that takes social, political, and material risks. Confronting difficult questions that Ukraine faces today, we encourage plain, direct speech without euphemism, ritual language and moral performance. The cost of silence is always higher than the risks of free speech because open societies rest on the ability to think aloud, disagree openly, and speak honestly in public. Once thought retreats into silence, societies drift toward fear, conformity, and authoritarianism — the very unfreedoms Ukrainians have been fighting against.

Recovery After Total War 

27-28 May 2026 Odessa - Zoom

The first major public forum to be held in Ukraine on Ukraine’s post-war social settlement. Speakers from Ukraine, Europe and the United States will address problems of how to retain and recover people, cohesion and trust.

Cosmo Colloquium

21 December 2024 Odessa - Zoom

Our launch event was an international Colloquium on cosmopolitanism in Ukraine. Despite threats from opponents of free speech, we gathered 16 international speakers in a sharply frank conversation.