The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia and Friends of Ukraine–Madison will be sponsoring a free screening of War on Education, a documentary film directed by Stefano di Pietro. The director will join by Zoom for a Q&A after the screening.
About the Film:
Ukraine has rightfully received widespread news coverage since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Most of the information has been about the military operations, the humanitarian crisis, and international affairs. Not much attention has been given to the ideology behind the invasion and the role of education in this conflict.
The misuse of history by Putin, including the introduction of a single history schoolbook and systematic attacks on education, is the result of a strategy that finds its origins in the times of the Tsars. The Russian army has been systematically targeting Ukrainian educational institutions, and state actors deny Ukrainian identity and Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation. This is happening because Russia’s leadership knows that education is a weapon, and they have been using this weapon to impose their views on past, present and future generations.
Ukrainians have been using education to free themselves from Soviet colonial dominance. Now more than ever, they refuse to give up. This is a war fought every day in bunker classrooms and barely reconstructed schools. This war is won through the resilience of regular people: families giving their children to the fight, teachers going to war.
By mixing personal stories with in-depth analysis of the education system by authorities, academics, and NGOs, “War on Education” investigates the current state of education in Ukraine and the ideology behind the invasion. Ukrainians’ resilience shows what a people can do if it is united to change things.