About the Project
The Democracy Festival
The Democracy Festival was the culmination of a teaching project within the Public Law course of the World Bachelor in Business program, directed by Justin Frosini and coordinated by Viktoriia Lapa. The initiative invited students to explore the question: What does democracy look like in today’s world?
Rather than limiting themselves to theoretical study, students engaged directly with experts, lawyers, journalists, and representatives of human rights organizations to understand the realities and challenges facing democracy across the globe. Their findings were presented in creative formats such as podcasts, videos, and websites.
Our Project
Our project focuses on one of the most urgent and painful humanitarian issues of our time — the deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children during the ongoing war. Within the framework of the Democracy Festival and the Public Law course, we set out to analyze this topic from multiple perspectives — legal, political, psychological, and social — to understand not only the immediate consequences but also the long-term impact on democratic values and human rights.
We explored how international law addresses such violations, the mechanisms of accountability that exist, and how democratic societies respond to these crimes. We also examined the human dimension of the tragedy, listening to the voices of families, NGOs, and journalists working to reunite children with their communities.
Our goal was to raise awareness of the ways in which democracy is tested during conflict, and to highlight the importance of global solidarity and active citizenship in protecting the most vulnerable — especially children — when fundamental rights are at stake.
