Invisible Ambassadors: How Translators Shape the World’s Perception of Ukraine

On May 28, Lviv hosted a public panel discussion titled "Invisible Ambassadors: How Translators Shape the World’s Perception of Ukraine," featuring the finalists and laureates of the 2025 Drahoman Prize.

Panelists:

Yaryna Grusha – translator from Ukrainian into Italian, lecturer at the University of Milan, journalist, and cultural manager.

Nina Murray (joining online) – translator of Ukrainian literature, poet, cultural manager, and diplomat.

Nils Håkansson – Swedish translator, writer, and literary scholar.

Alla Tatarenko – Drahoman Prize jury member, translator, and Slavic literary scholar.

Khrystyna Boyko – Director of the ZMIN Foundation.

Moderator: Olha Petryshyn – Head of the Literary Department at the Ukrainian Institute.

Today, translators act as researchers, promoters, and cultural diplomats. As true agents of change, they expand perspectives and transform how the world reads Ukraine. They do not just pick the right words; they translate the reality of one country into the contexts of another — ensuring that Ukraine’s voice is heard with greater precision and clarity.

The conversation centered on long-term institutional shifts, driven by a straightforward conviction: culture is neither a luxury nor something that can "wait". Rather than funding one-off gestures, support must target communities and sustainable, ongoing processes. The Drahoman Prize has evolved into exactly that kind of community — a network of people and practices that makes the Ukrainian voice visible globally. The fact that the prize continues to grow in a time of war is a profound testament to its resilience.