After four and a half years of full-scale war, Ukraine needs a new narrative about itself. Not a narrative of survival, but a narrative of agency – a country that knows its own roots, is aware of its identity, invests in culture and education, builds institutions, takes responsibility for its heritage, and chooses authorship as a way of shaping the future.
We propose looking at the Ukrainian state as a shared home, whose architecture has been built over centuries. Its foundation is identity and culture. They answer the questions of who we are, what we are defending, and for what future we are working. The load-bearing structures of this home are responsible for entrepreneurship, education, philanthropy, institutions, strong services, and trust between people. They ensure the state’s daily resilience – its ability to work, develop, and endure even in the hardest times.
The dome in this architecture serves as a defense. It protects not an abstract territory, but culture, people, institutions, the economy, a way of life, and Ukrainians’ right to remain the authors of their own history. That is why culture, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, innovation, education, services, and defense do not exist separately. They are interconnected elements of a single architecture of Ukrainian resilience.
BestsellerFest 2026 “The Architecture of Ukrainian Resilience: From Culture to Defense – How State Agency Is Established” will take place on August 7–8, from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The number of seats is limited to preserve the intimate format of the event and create space for a meaningful dialogue with the participation of everyone.
Where: Lviv, !FESTRepublic Club (24 Staroznesenska Street).
Participation fee:
- UAH 4,600 — Early Bird rate, available through July 31, 2026 (inclusive).
- UAH 4,900 — Tickets purchased between August 1 and August 6, 2026 (inclusive).
- UAH 5,500 — Tickets purchased on August 7–8, 2026.
A 50% discount on tickets is available for active military personnel and veterans. To receive a promo code, please contact: oyankovska@ucu.edu.ua
By purchasing a ticket, you also contribute to an important cause: a portion of the ticket price will support the establishment and expansion of libraries in communities across Ukraine.
To join the Business Program, please register using the link below. Once you complete the registration form, we will send you a ticket purchase link and all the necessary information regarding your participation to the email address you provide.
Due to the intimate format of the event and the limited number of seats, we encourage you to register as early as possible.
Information partners: SUP, Promprylad Foundation, Art Export Cluster.
Program of The Architecture of Ukrainian Resilience
(The program is subject to change)
DAY I (August 7)
The Foundations of the Ukrainian Home
15:00–15:15 Prologue
Being an architect of your tomorrow today: on the program’s central metaphor
Mariana Savka – writer, editor-in-chief, and co-founder of Old Lion Publishing House, founder of BestsellerFest
15:15–16:00
What will happen to our Ukrainian home in the future if we do not reinforce the foundation?
Yevhen Hlibovytsky – CEO of the Frontier Institute, expert in long-term strategy, member of the Supervisory Board of Suspilne (Public Broadcasting).
Pavlo Derevianko – writer, serviceman of the Azov.one regiment
Moderator: Yulian Chaplinsky – architect, urbanist, founder of CHAPLINSKYY & Associates, former chief architect of Lviv
16:00–16:55 Invisible Builders
Where would Ukraine be today if its most visionary architects of the future had not been destroyed for centuries?
A moderated conversation on Ukrainian philanthropy of the 19th–20th centuries
Natalia Kryvda – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Iryna Starovoit – poet, literary scholar, professor, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Ukrainian Catholic University
Moderator: Sofia Opatska – Founding Dean of the UCU Business School, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development at the Ukrainian Catholic University
16:55–17:40 Coffee. Networking
17:40–18:35
How late is “on time”? Which projects are family businesses betting on during the full-scale war.
On modern foundations, private philanthropy, family businesses, and business responsibility for culture, education, and institutions
Anna Sushko – co-founder of the “Mnozhyna” Foundation.
Olena Vovk – co-founder of VOVK Group, philanthropist.
Marianna Yeleyko – head of the Bohdan Havrylyshyn Family Foundation.
Iryna Hrytsaienko – head of the Zahoriy Family Foundation
Moderator: Roksolana Voronovska – Head of the UCU Institute of Professional Development and UCU Online.
18:35–19:30
What would Slavko have said about all this?
A shared conversation in memory of Yaroslav Rushchyshyn, a man of systemic change
Mykhailo Lemak – CEO of the Lviv IT Cluster.
Serhii Lesniak – historian of Eastern philosophy, lecturer at the UCU Business School, entrepreneur, first translator of “The Art of War” from classical Chinese into Ukrainian.
Yurko Nazaruk – Ukrainian entrepreneur, co-owner of the!FEST Holding of Emotions.
Mykola Viknianskyi – owner of Termopal, founder of the Association of Furniture Exporters of Ukraine.
Nataliia Popovych – Founder of One Philosophy and Director of the Ukrainian House in Denmark.
Moderator: Sofiya Opatska – Founding Dean of UCU Business School and Vice Rector for Strategic Development at the Ukrainian Catholic University.
19:30–20:00 Special Guest
20:00 Party for Authors, Publishers, and Entrepreneurs
DAY II (August 8)
Culture and Total Defense
15:00–15:45
Toward a Ministry of Defense of Culture and Education: how the 21st century is redefining the very concept of national security
On culture and education not being merely a humanitarian sphere, but a strategic infrastructure of the state
Rena Marutyan – Doctor of Public Administration, professor, expert in national security, strategic communications, and societal resilience.
Bohdana Layuk – First Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
Moderator: Zoya Kazanzhy – journalist, media expert
15:45–16:35 The Load-Bearing Structures of the Ukrainian Home
How institutions, services, and people rebuild and reinforce what has been destroyed every day, to keep living
On crisis management in the railway and energy systems, and support for cultural projects
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi – Chairman of the Board of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (on Ukrzaliznytsia, systemic change, and cultural projects such as WOW Ukraine at the railway station).
Serhii Kovalenko – CEO of D.Solutions (YASNO brand), one of Ukraine’s leading experts in energy and distributed energy development
Moderator: Larysa Latypova – Deputy CEO for Corporate Governance at SOCAR Energy Ukraine, founder of the “Gastrosenses” charitable project, co-founder of the “Independence Pie” gastronomic tradition
16:35–17:20 The Dome of Ukrainian Resilience
How the defense industry is becoming a patron of the future
On how the people who create security today are, in fact, already creating culture, education, universities, museums, and libraries
17:20–18:05 Coffee. Networking
18:05–18:50 Reading to Build
How reading important books together creates a shared language for the country
Denys Bloshchynskyi – Director of the “From Ukraine to Ukraine” Social Innovation Foundation.
Olena Sozanska – leader of the Business School’s book club.
Taras Prokopyshyn – The Ukrainians, co-founder and publisher of The Ukrainians Media
Moderator: Kateryna Kotvitska – Head of Content at MEGOGO BOOKS.
