Commemorate 1 year of war together

The idea for a national memorial gathering came from the Ukrainian organization Vital'nya in Utrecht. At Vital'nya, refugees from Ukraine have been gathering since 1 April last year to be together, attend classes, cultural events and participate in group discussions and trauma processing. On 24 February, from 11 am to 5 pm, they are organizing a special programme to commemorate the war.

Starting at 10:30 a.m., 'The Walk of Hope' will be walked prior to the programme. The route follows the route thousands of refugees travelled last year between Utrecht CS and Jaarbeurs Hall 5.

Along the route, you can see and read on columns what the refugees and aid workers went through as they arrived and were received. The walk is for refugees from Ukraine as well as Dutch people.

The slogan of the day is 'Remember Together'. The themes of remembering and connecting are central. On the exhibition floor of Hall 1, there will be 25 meeting points symbolizing Ukrainian cities and regions. These spots will be arranged as living rooms.

You can take a journey through Ukraine, meet city and regional peers and see images of the current situation in the country. Speeches will be held on the central stage in the Jaarbeurs between 3pm and 4pm. Afterwards, there will be performances of Ukrainian music.

The event is not only for refugees from Ukraine, but also for Dutch people who have helped them over the past year. Members of the host families, volunteers, aid workers and employees of the security regions and governments, for example. They are welcome to join you at this meeting.

Tickets are free for all refugees from Ukraine. Dutch nationals are asked for a voluntary contribution, starting from €10. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the organization of the event.