This week we carried out a teaching academic mobility to Bartın Üniversitesi (Bartın University) (Turkey) within the framework of the Erasmus KA171 program. Our team from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Львівський національний університет імені Івана Франка (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) (Ukraine) included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nadiia Levus, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Наталя Гребінь, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Юлія Сокирка and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zlat Dubniak.

This visit was undoubtedly a valuable and unforgettable experience. We had the great pleasure of being in the wonderful intellectual company of Turkish professors and students of the Faculty of Literature. The culmination of our teaching communication was the international interdisciplinary panel “Exploring the Dynamics of Freedom and Identity in Today’s World”, which showed the similarity and commonality of the challenges that our countries are currently facing. For our part, we tried to speak frankly and reasonably about what is happening in Ukraine today in the dimensions of personal psychology, political institutions, education and ethnic identity against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian war. We were pleasantly surprised by the emotional involvement and research interest of our Turkish colleagues, who, with their reports on hybrid identity, collective memory and other topics, expanded the space for our reflection.

Our intellectual exchange would not have been as vivid if we had bypassed the cultural space of northern Anatolia. Thanks to the genuine hospitality of Turkish colleagues, our team was able to walk on the centuries-old lands of Istanbul, experience the authentic flavor of Bartin, see the other side of the Black Sea and sunny Amastrida, and even witness the excavation of a Roman portico. This week was a real immersion in Turkish customs and lifestyle at the local level. It was full of historical enlightenment and an inspiring experience of meeting the past. We will fondly remember for a long time the special places and people we met in Turkey.

We express our immense gratitude to Asst. Prof. Dr. Svitlana Nesterova for the excellent organization and comprehensive support of our entire academic mobility. We are also grateful for the assistance and meaningful exchange to the wonderful team of Bartın University, in particular Prof. Dr. Aslı Yazıcı, Prof. Dr. Sedat Yazıcı, Prof. Dr. Selçuk Gümüş, Asst. Prof. Ahmet Yirmibes, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Musa Salan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hicran Karataş, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özdemir Şahin, Instr. Murat İpek, Res. Asst. Dr. Öner Güler, Res. Asst. Fahriye Yaraş Elalmiş, Res. Asst. İzzettin Elalmiş, Prof. Dr. Fatma Bağdatli Çam, Asst. Prof. Dr. Tolgahan Toy, Asst. Prof. Dr. Berk Utkan Atbakan and other colleagues. Special thanks to Ivan Franko National University of Lviv – International Office.

Let this experience inspire us for further cooperation! We invite Turkish colleagues to visit Ukraine and our University!