14th YES Annual Meeting

Over 350 leading politicians, diplomats, businessmen, civil activists and experts from 34 countries will take part in the conference organized by the international forum YES in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

The key topics of the meeting include on the one hand a global focus: changes in the global geopolitical constellation and global economy. Special attention will be paid to policies of the new US administration, global hot spots, cyber security, populism, and energy security.

As always, the second key focus of the YES Annual Meeting is Ukraine, its prospects and its place in the world. Debates will focus on changes in the country and the challenges to be addressed. Speakers will debate on Ukraine’s reforms, the perception of Ukraine in the EU, options for Ukraine’s security, ways to ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and the conflict between change makers and vested interests.

Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy: “The YES meeting is a place for global and Ukrainian leaders to assess changes in the world and what they mean for Ukraine, and to come up with new ideas. The forum has become a traditional annual meeting point, bringing together the world’s best thinkers with those changing Ukraine. We believe it is a strong contribution to support Ukraine’s global positioning, and initiating necessary debates in Ukraine and between Ukrainians and their international partners.

Alexander Kwasniewski, chairman of the Yalta European Strategy Board, President of Poland (1995-2005):”Ukraine is going through the vastest and the fastest transformations in the whole history of its existence. The problem is that the global world that it seeks to join is not remaining on standby either: it is becoming agile and unpredictable sometimes. Will Ukraine succeed to synchronies with global transformations and become an example for the rest of the countries in transition? An answer may be found only here, in Kyiv, and only with the contribution from a global view on the challenges and prospects for Ukraine.”

The venue of Mystetsky Arsenal will host plenary sessions and special sections of the forum.

The opening of the 14th YES Annual Meeting will take place at Bessarabsky Market, a spectacular venue in the heart of Kyiv, to showcase the city as one of the most vibrant capitals in Europe. “Bessarabka,” a traditional indoor market founded in 1912, recently has started including street food vendors and other new shops. These changes are in line with the international trend of revitalizing old city markets to make them dynamic centers of urban life. Inside the historic building, fruit, vegetables, fish and meat operate alongside regional Ukrainian, vegan, Middle Eastern, and East Asian street food. The forum opening will highlight Ukraine’s diversity, entrepreneurialism, innovation and the artistic dimension of everyday life. With this, YES aims to not only promote Ukraine on the political level, but show the immense cultural, agricultural and urban potential of one of Europe’s most fascinating nations.

The online stream of the 14^th YES Annual Meeting will be available on the site yes-ukraine.org as well as on the web sites of media partners in English and Ukrainian.

The official Twitter handle of the 14^th YES Annual Meeting is @yes_ukraine, and participants and followers can include the hash tag: #YESUkraine2017