United for Justice conference: increasing international cooperation for the sake of justice. Photo Credit: Lviv Convention Bureau
Lviv is forging ahead with events in the midst of Ukraine’s war with
Russia. The country managed to host 593 business events – local,
national and international last year.
Lviv Convention Bureau was at IMEX 2023 and made a stand presentation
on May 24, about how Lviv’s local event professionals who were under
missile attacks at shelters organised legacy conferences, exhibitions
and meetings with the highest levels of security. It also shared its
joint work with Gaining Edge on the new Lviv Brand Essence, showcasing
new hotels, venues, and restaurants that opened in Lviv in 2022.
The CVB’s deputy director, Yuliia Katynska, said: “Fortunately, Lviv
is far away from the frontline and its conference infrastructure is
undamaged. Also, Lviv is only 70 km from EU border and has a lot of
connections with European cities. This fact helps to think about the
worst scenarios for delegates. Apart from this Lviv air forces with
international partners provide city air defence. Lviv is a relatively
safe city. It is far away from the frontline. A lot of soldiers defend
the city. There are also many shelters. Air rapid alarms warn people of
any dangers. Foreigners can easily come to Lviv by bus, train or by car.
There are no long lines toward UA border. Hotels operate. Restaurants
work. No one was hurt in 2023.
“We understand that right now Lviv is not safe enough. We tell the
truth, but also explain what is really happening in the city.
Professionals from medicine, military, journalism, business, and other
fields come to Lviv to help Ukraine. Lviv (has) become the entry point
for them. Meetings that they organise in Lviv aim to make changes and
unite people. It is not as many as it was before the war, but they
(still) happened. And local PCOs do their best to provide the best
service for them.”
Lviv hosted the United for Justice conference from March 3-5, 2023
for 400 delegates. This conference held discussions on the increased
coordination on accountability initiatives in relation to Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.
At press time, the CVB had almost 200 events in its calendar for
2023. She added: “Meetings such as United for Justice made strong
contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The
long-term legacy impact from this convention will be the increased
international cooperation for the sake of justice, not only for Ukraine,
but worldwide.”
Present at the event were key national and international political
and justice officials, ministers, prosecutors and justices from several
countries and the International Criminal Court, and international and
national NGOs. At this conference, a Dialogue Group on Accountability
for Ukraine was established. It aims to maintain multilateral coherence
of action across accountability efforts in relation to the war.
The International Rehabilitation Forum
The International Rehabilitation Forum: brainstorming solutions for the treatment, prosthetics and rehabilitation of war victims.Lviv also hosted another convention from April 11-13, 2023 for 1,000
delegates, which will directly impact the country’s war-wounded. The
International Rehabilitation Forum saw specialists from all over the
world - doctors, experts, representatives of international institutions,
foundations, national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, including
the Red Cross of Ukraine - convening to find solutions for the
treatment, prosthetics and rehabilitation of war victims.
Participants learnt about the UNBROKEN project and saw the work of
Ukrainian medics working in emergency conditions. The Forum also
included an international exhibition of the latest rehabilitation
equipment from startups and IT companies who facilitate the physical and
psychological rehabilitation of military personnel and civilians. Phase
one of the Unbroken National Center for Rehabilitation was also opened
as part of the Forum’s programme.
Katynska said: “The centre aims to be Europe’s largest and most
advanced rehabilitation facility. No doubt hosting the International
Rehabilitation Forum has helped to drive many outcomes which will
transform the trajectory of current situations. These two conventions
are just two examples of the business events which took place despite
the war, and aligned perfectly with our tagline: LVIV: Let’s create a legacy together.