“Unissued Diplomas 2.0” exhibition in Kyiv tells the stories of students killed in Russia’s war

The "Unissued Diplomas 2.0" exhibition will run until March 23 at the Cultural and Arts Center of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Rubryka reports.

What's the problem?

Ukrainian civilians and military personnel are dying at the hands of Russian aggression. The most valuable thing we can do is not to let the world forget their stories and continue to talk about Ukraine so that it remains in the spotlight around the world.

What's the solution?

Kyiv-Mohyla Academy students created the "Unissued Diplomas" project in 2023 to tell the stories of 40 Ukrainian students who died due to Russia's war. Initially, the team planned to hold several exhibitions only in Toronto, but over time the idea spread. The project had 110 exhibitions in 24 countries and 67 universities in 2023. Organizers share that cultural diplomacy aims to convey the truth about Ukraine and its struggle to the world.

How does it work?

Nazar studied at Lviv Polytechnic but died while performing a combat mission. Olha dreamed of traveling but died from burns in a hospital after a rocket attack in Vinnytsia. Valentyn loved boxing, but battles in Bakhmut took his life — these are short but poignant stories told on the diplomas.

"We understood how important it is to talk about them because they are alive as long as we remember them," says Anastasiia Dovbnia, one of the project's co-founders.

The stories of 22 students out of 40 were collected with the support of the "Memorial" platform, which accumulates and spreads memories of the deceased civilians and soldiers through stories.

More than 60 people from all over the world worked on the project. Anastasiia shares that in the project's second wave, they collaborated not only with Ukrainians but also with foreign organizers.

"It is valuable because Ukrainian stories and the Ukrainian context in general resonate with foreigners and continue to spread them at home," says the organizer.

In addition to diplomas, the team creates posters with short phrases describing what it's like to be a student during wartime. This year, materials have been translated into over 15 languages, and the work continues. Exhibitions were held in Japan, Nigeria, Denmark, Australia, and many other countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. For example, the exhibition took place in South Korea near the Russian embassy. Organizers say they want to remind the world of Russia's full-scale invasion and that there is a terrorist country next to Ukraine that takes the lives of young people. The team shares that reaching individual regions is difficult, but they are working to cover inaccessible and lesser-known parts of the world.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi adds:

"These photographs you see depict people who left their impact — something behind. And we have no right to forget them. It's sad that they can no longer influence us every day as much as we would like. But we move on. We are who we are because they did something in our lives. And for that, we are grateful."

Rubryka previously reported that the foundation named after Yevhen Olefirenko, a National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" graduate, is raising funding for the Yevhen Olefirenko Memorial Scholarship.