On 24 February 2026, the online meeting “Memory and Action: Unity and Science During War” took place. It was initiated and held by the Foundation “Ukrainian Scientific Diaspora in Poland” - without loud words and without argument. On days like these, what matters is not convincing one another, but being there for one another. Quietly and with dignity. To feel togetherness. To support. To remember.
At the beginning, there was a minute of silence. For all those taken by the war: military personnel and civilians, adults and children, medics, rescuers, volunteers, teachers, scientists - all those whose lives were cut short, though they still had so much to say and do. In that minute, there was something that needed no explanation.
"This minute is for all those taken by the war. For military personnel and civilians. For those who died at the front and at home. For children who did not have time to grow up. For parents who never got to see their loved ones return. For those we knew, and for those whose names we will never know. For medics, rescuers, and volunteers. For teachers, students, and scientists - those whose lives were cut short, though they still had so much to say and do for Ukraine."
And also for the children who were taken away without consent.
Memory is not a ritual, but a moral duty - a way not to lose our humanity where the world is being reduced to fear and numbers.
During the discussion, dates were mentioned that have already become historical turning points.
20 February 2014 marked the beginning of the occupation and subsequent annexation of Crimea - the moment after which Ukraine entered a new era of trials.
24 February 2022 was the day when the aggression entered its full-scale, active phase. The war did not arise suddenly - it casts a long shadow, stretching across more than 300 years of imperial policy that, at different times and by different means, sought to deprive Ukraine of its right to a voice, a language, a memory, and a future. Understanding this long duration does not take away strength - it explains why resilience matters so much. That is why this is not merely a “crisis,” but a defense of one’s own subjectivity within a long history of resistance.
In this context, science and education cease to be a “peace-time luxury.” They become an infrastructure of resilience. War destroys, while knowledge builds.
Knowledge is the ability not to drown in chaos, to distinguish fact from manipulation, and to seek solutions where hopelessness seems to prevail.
Education is a signal to a child and to a student: your future has not been canceled.
Science is proof that society is not collapsing into mere survival, but preserves development as a form of resistance. It helps save lives, restore infrastructure, document the truth, and find tools for risk management and decision-making. It upholds standards of evidence when truth itself is attacked as persistently as borders are.
A separate thread of the discussion addressed a topic that is often underestimated until it is too late - the preservation of ethnic capital.
Ethnic capital as a tool of thinking and learning, our language and culture as a way to pass on experience and meaning, social trust and mutual support as an invisible yet real infrastructure of society, and networks of diaspora and academic communities that support students and scientists, preserve competencies, and build bridges of cooperation.
The Chair of the Foundation’s Board outlined concrete steps:“Allow me to suggest several practical directions in which memory can naturally turn into action - without pathos, but with tangible results. First of all, this means supporting students and young researchers through mentoring, joint seminars, peer review, internships, letters of recommendation, as well as microgrants for data or publication. Next come small but regular research partnerships, from a joint article, exchange of methods, replication of results, and open data to joint grant applications. Equally important is the preservation of knowledge: archiving materials, developing digital repositories, translating key texts, and creating open courses.”
All the things that war seeks to cut short so that forgetting can later be imposed more easily. Protecting ethnic capital means protecting the future - without language and knowledge, there will be no rebuilding, only the repair of ruins. Memory cannot remain only pain. It has the chance to become action - without pathos, but with real meaning.
We thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We thank the Territorial Defense Forces. We thank everyone defending Ukraine at the front and in the rear - medics, rescuers, volunteers, teachers, scientists, everyone who keeps the country standing. Eternal memory to all those who were killed. May memory not harden into stone, but turn into hope and action.