Side Events

A nightcap is a drink or two to help you relax and sleep better at the end of the day.

Yalta European Strategy (YES) has introduced nightcap events for the participants of the 15th YES Annual Meeting to wind down at the end of the first conference day and discuss interesting topics in an informal atmosphere. YES has invited leading politicians, opinion makers and business leaders to present their views on modern trends that define the world and Ukraine. The nightcaps are organized in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and America House, International Renaissance Foundation, Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter and the Atlantic Council, Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, Western NIS Enterprise Fund and Embassy of the Republic of Estonia.

The YES nightcaps are free of charge and casual. To join one, please register via the link below on this page. Nightcap time will be disclosed to registered participants.

Should you have any questions, feel free to contact the YES nightcaps team at [email protected].

Registration for the nightcaps is closed due to space availability. We apologize for any inconvenience.

1. US - Russia relations and Book Presentation of "From Cold War to Hot Peace" by Michael McFaul

Host: America House and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine

Venue: America House (6, Mykoly Pymonenka Str.)

Speakers:

• Michael McFaul, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014); Stanford Professor and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow
• John Tefft, U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2014-2017), and also former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Georgia, and Lithuania
• Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2001 – 2005), former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

Moderator:

• Marie Yovanovitch, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador Yovanovitch will host a discussion with Ambassadors Michael McFaul, John Tefft, and Alexander Vershbow on U.S. - Russia relations. The panelists will share their personal experiences serving as U.S. Ambassador to Russia and their views on U.S. - Russia relations since the Gorbachev era.

2. Crimean declaration - what's next?

Host: Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine

Venue: Diplomatic Academy (2, Velyka Zhytomyrska Str.)

Speakers:

• Refat Chubarov, Chairman, Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
• Charles Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs, Georgetown University
• Serhii Kyslytsya, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
• Serhii Petukhov, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine
• Bruno Lete, Senior Fellow, Security and Defense, The German Marshall Fund

Moderator:

• Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister of Information Policy

Crimea Declaration - what is next? What steps can be expected from the world leaders following the United States' declaration, rejecting Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula? How can we make sure that the illegal annexation of Crimea stays at the top of the global agenda? In what way shall the US, the UK and others fulfill their commitments under the Budapest Memorandum? How can the Crimean Tatars become game-changers in their fight for the right of self-determination in Crimea? Are there any lessons from history that can be applied to ensure a smooth political, economic, and social reunification of the peninsula?

3. Antisemitism in Ukraine: Russian Disinformation and On-the-Ground Reality

Host: Ukrainian Jewish Encounter and The Atlantic Council

Venue: Civil Servants’ zone, Mystetskyi Arsenal (10-12 Lavrska Str.)

Speakers:

• Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, Chief Rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine
• Vladyslav Davidzon, Journalist, Editor of the Odessa Review
• John Herbst, Director, Eurasian Center, The Atlantic Council
• Bernard-Henri Levy, Philosopher
• Vyacheslav Likhachev, Historian, journalist, political scientist, and social activist
• Berel Rodal, Board Director, and Chairman of the Advisory Board, Ukrainian Jewish Encounter

Moderator:

• Adrian Karatnycky, Co-Director, Ukrainian Jewish Encounter

The session would focus on both antisemitism and the activities of the extreme right in Ukraine. How serious a threat? How much is an exaggeration? How do Russian propaganda and false news exploit these phenomena? Is anti-Semitism in Ukraine on the rise? Is the far-right a real threat in Ukraine? How do these problems compare to those in neighboring countries of Eastern Europe and in established West European countries?

4. George Soros' political philanthropy and the current battles of ideas

Host: International Renaissance Foundation

Venue: OneLoveCoffee, PinchukArtCentre (1/3-2 Velyka Vasylkivska Str.)

Speakers:

• Marieluise Beck, Co-Founder, Director for East-Central and Eastern Europe, Centre for Liberal Modernity
• Yevhen Hlibovytskyy, Founder, Pro.mova, Member, Nestor Group
• Ivan Krulko, Member, Parliament of Ukraine
• Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director, IRF
• Lally Weymouth, Senior Associate Editor, The Washington Post

Moderator:

• Kateryna Gorchinska, CEO, Hromadske TV

The current political debate on democracy and authoritarianism, human rights and security, sovereignty and universal values, conflict over minorities, migration, and other dividing topics bring us to revisit the role of international private political philanthropy. Do the formal institutions (political parties, parliaments, governments, etc.) have a monopoly on this debate? What is the role of private institutions, active citizens, and independent NGOs in this public debate? How to separate the promotion of vested interests from the support of genuine civic activism and general good? Why opponents are sometimes hostile to international networks that support civil society, labeling them as "foreign agents" and a source of "external governance"? What can be done to reduce the growth of illiberal trends in Europe and beyond?

George Soros and his network of the Open Society Foundations, of which the International Renaissance Foundation is a part, have been prominent supporters of civil society in Ukraine for almost three decades. This support is driven by the idea of political philanthropy and necessity to defend and promote values of the open society as a prerequisite of the harmonic development of states, societies and human beings.

5. Developing democracy, transparency and the rule of law in time of new threats

Host: YES

Venue: Delegation conference hall, Mystetskyi Arsenal (10-12 Lavrska Str.)

Speakers:

• Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
• Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euroatlantic Integration

Moderator:

• Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014); Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994)

Four years after the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine is still fighting corruption and building institutions that will ensure transparency and the rule of law. The Ukrainian Parliament has adopted the law on High Anti-Corruption Court that was subsequently signed by the President of Ukraine. This was a major step in complying with the requirements of Ukraine’s international partners. However, what has to be done to make this institution function not only on paper but also in the Ukrainian society? What other steps need to be taken to speed up the reforms process in Ukraine? What experience can Ukraine draw on from its international partners? Yalta European Strategy invites you for a discussion with Kersti Kaljulaid and Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, moderated by Carl Bildt, who will answer these questions and share their insights into what makes democracies work in the modern world. 

6. Technology in a fast changing world. Ukraine’s contribution to the growth of the world tech ecosystem.

Host: Western NIS Enterprise Fund

Venue: Creative Quarter Gulliver (1a Sportyvna Square)

Speakers:

• Lenna Koszarny, CEO of Horizon Capital
• Yurii Gogotsi, Nano-technology scientist
• Yaroslav Azhniuk, CEO of Petcube
• Pavel Vrzhesch, Co-Founder of Banda Agency
• Sergei Leschenko, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine

Moderator: 

• Charles Whitehead, Director of the Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship program at Cornell Tech; Professor of Law, Cornell University

How best to expand Ukraine’s growing innovative tech industry to the next level? What should be Ukraine’s future contributions to expanding the world’s tech ecosystem?

This nightcap will bring together some of the most prominent entrepreneurial thought leaders who are building and investing in successful world class companies in Ukraine.

Participants will get firsthand accounts from CEOs and top executives of such companies as Horizon Capital, Petcube, Banda Agency, Yurii Gogotsi and Sergei Leschenko.