Aspen Institute Kyiv Launches Its Moderator Development Programme
On 29 April 2026, Aspen Institute Kyiv held the first session of its Moderator Development Programme, a new initiative designed to cultivate a community of facilitators capable of working with dialogue as a complex intellectual and civic practice.
The inaugural session brought together Aspen alumni from a range of professional backgrounds, including Oleksii Herashchenko, Viktor Diachenko, Oleksandra Koltsova, Oleh Kravchuk, and Dmytro Shevchuk. They were joined by experienced Aspen moderators Serhii Rohol and Volodymyr Fadieiev, as well as members of the Aspen Institute Kyiv team.
The first session focused on getting to know one another, the Institute’s team, and the broader Aspen ecosystem—its history, mission, and programme portfolio. Participants reflected on their own experiences as seminar participants and began to consider how those experiences could become the foundation for their future role as moderators.
A special part of the programme was an interactive lecture by Serhii Koshman, who explored the history of the Aspen Institute and the evolution of the Aspen idea as an independent platform for dialogue among leaders. We are sincerely grateful to Serhii for presenting the intellectual foundations of Aspen in such an engaging and thought-provoking way, and for creating space for participants to reflect together on this tradition.
The session also introduced participants to Aspen Institute Kyiv’s work, its core programme formats, and future opportunities for moderators to contribute to the Institute’s seminars and events.
The Moderator Development Programme is designed not only to strengthen participants’ facilitation skills but also to foster a community in which dialogue serves as a tool for understanding complex societal challenges and exploring thoughtful responses in times of uncertainty.
