From September 1, 2024, the head of the Department of International Relations of Sumy State University, Professor Yuriy Petrushenko, began his research under the Fulbright Program at the Salisbury University (Maryland, USA).
Research project by Professor Yuriy Petrushenko aims to develop approaches to using the method of civic reflection to reduce social tension in Ukrainian post-war society and support a favorable civic environment for Ukraine`s post-war recovery.
Civic reflection is a guided method of conversation and dialogue developed in the United States in the 1990s. Civic reflection aims to support individual and group understandings of how and why people participate in public life and what they might do together to improve society. Today, community mediation groups, national programs such as AmeriCorps, and educators nationwide use civic reflection to discuss social problems (economic, cultural, post-traumatic, etc.) and encourage civic participation.
Civic reflection is based on interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences, particularly the theory of democratic development, transformative learning, and social psychology. Civic reflection aims to create dialogue, connections and mutual understanding, self-reflection, and learning within and among participants of a collective conversation. In times of political and social tension, civic reflection is an innovative technique for finding common ground, respecting differences, and encouraging people to consider their civic obligations. As a conversation model, Civic Reflection uses a common source (resonant and relevant poetry and prose texts, images, videos, and music) and aims to help groups understand important issues in their lives. The most popular among the facilitators of this method is the use of poetry and photography. Using images and text, facilitators guide participants in creating a space for collective discussions, dialogue, and shared understandings of each other and themselves.
In 2018, the University of Salisbury (Maryland, USA), based on the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement (PACE), established the National Center for Civic Reflection, which is a powerful national resource designed to help people develop meaningful civic discussions about solving social problems.
Today, the Center offers facilitation services and trainings on reflection moderation, as well as maintains a national catalog of civic reflection resources (Center for Civic Reflection, Salisbury University).
The Centers for Civic Reflection at Salisbury University have prepared trainers worldwide to help solve social problems in a wide range of communities and organizations for the international dissemination of applying civic reflection. Currently, the Center for Civic Reflection has had its representatives in 42 countries. The next country should be Ukraine.
Yuriy Petrushenko’s research task is to study the experience and practice of applying the method of civic reflection in the United States and to develop special tools for its use to reduce social tension between different social groups in Ukraine during the war and in post-war society.
It is planned to test the method of civic reflection (on the basis of the Center for Adult Education “Education for Life” at Sumy State University) and develop recommendations for its use by civil society institutions and educational organizations in Ukraine.