12–14 September 2025
Ventotene Island, Italy
The first European Conference for Freedom and Democracy took place on the island of Ventotene (Italy), organised by the European Parliament Office in Italy in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Italy.
The event’s organisers included the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno, and the Head of the European Parliament Office in Italy, Carlo Corazza.
The conference brought together leading European politicians, academics and representatives of civil society, among them:
- Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament
- Sandro Gozi, MEP (Renew Europe)
– Salvatore De Meo, MEP (Forza Italia – EPP)
– Nicola Zingaretti, MEP (PD – S&D)
– Giuseppe Pepe, Deputy Mayor of Ventotene
– Nona Mikhelidze, Head of Research at the Istituto Affari Internazionali
– Sofia Ventura, political scientist, essayist and professor at the University of Bologna
– Filippo Sensi, Senator of the Italian Republic (Partito Democratico)
– Michele Valensise, President of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, former ambassador and Secretary General of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Giorgio Gori, MEP (PD – S&D)
– Simona Flavia Malpezzi, Senator of the Italian Republic, former undersecretary of state
– Annalisa Gliubizzi, Director for the Regions at the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for External Policies
The National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI) received an official invitation to take part in the conference. This was a recognition of our consistent work at European level and an important opportunity to present CNAUI’s initiatives.
During the conference, the President of CNAUI, Lara Levchun, held another meeting with the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno.
Cooperation between CNAUI and the European Parliament has been under way for more than a year and includes joint initiatives to counter Russian propaganda and disinformation.
By decision of the Department of Strategic Communications, the CNAUI delegation consisted of:
– Tetiana Zelena (“Free Civilians” Association)
– Oleksandr Tarasov (journalist, one of the Kremlin’s first civilian hostages)
The members of the delegation raised the issue of civilian hostages held in Russian places of detention.
At the conference, Lara Levchun gave a talk on the Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia and called for support for the awareness campaign “Where There Is Listening, Peace Is Born”, launched by CNAUI’s Department of Strategic Communications.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has deported 19,546 Ukrainian children, altering their documents, severing their family ties and imposing a military upbringing on them. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, has called these actions a war crime and an act of genocide, since the forcible transfer of children from one ethnic group to another is a recognised element of genocide.
The Ventotene conference was an important institutional and cultural event, affirming the fundamental values of the European Union at a time of war, economic instability and threats to democracy.
Ukraine was also represented by:
– Oleksandra Matviichuk — President of the Center for Civil Liberties, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and Sakharov Prize laureate
– Oleksandra Romantsova — Executive Director of the Center
– Yuliia Paievska (“Taira”) — doctor, founder of the volunteer medical corps “Taira’s Angels”, former political prisoner, 2022 Sakharov Prize laureate.
Taking part in the Ventotene conference was an important step in strengthening European solidarity with Ukraine.
The National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy continues to work to ensure that the voice of the Ukrainian community is heard internationally.
We are grateful to all our partners for their trust, their support and our shared struggle for freedom and democracy.
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