What I was doing in South East Ukraine.

I get asked many questions about what I was doing in Ukraine, especially in South East Ukraine, in the region next to the war zone. This is the CV summary from LinkedIn with a little extra explanation. I hope to add links to some of the recent news stories from the ZNU website, and photographs in due course.

Honorary visiting Professor in the Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages, the Faculty of Law, including Department of Criminal Law, and the Faculty of Journalism. April – May 2015; previously October – December 2014. Zaporizhia National University is a large established state University in south east Ukraine, in Ukraine's 6th largest city. ZNU has a long history of expertise in language teaching (particularly English) and the Law Faculty has just celebrated it's 25th anniversary. I am also contributing to professional events in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, and contributing talks and Q&A sessions for students in the Faculty of Journalism, and in the Department of Tourism, and to student speaking clubs. I contributed to both University outreach work (including school visits) and talked English to many others who were interested including an English speaking club for volunteers.

In addition I met a wide variety of civil society, volunteer, and official organisations discussing the UK, English, policy, political and law reform. In October I shadowed international, civil society and local contacts during the Parliamentary elections. On my second visit I spoke on legal system to judges of the Regional Court of Appeal; gave a seminar to district and regional officials on anti-corruption law and policies; discussed the monuments / anti-Sovietisation law with journalism students & staff; discussed education, identity and peacebuilding with the regional Centre for Patriotic Education; & talked about human rights, peacebuilding & regeneration / development to a Social Forecasting conference. I am particularly proud to have worked with about twenty students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages as volunteer interpreters and translators, including working with a dozen more than once, genuinely volunteering to help outside of their University duties. I have worked with several volunteer interpreters repeatedly, further increasing my understanding of Ukraine and their professional skills in English.

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