The Psychological Dimension of War: Nataliia Shmarova’s Address
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On 19 November 2025, the International Interactive Forum “Protect the Children – Protect the Future” was held in Rome at Esperienza Europa – David Sassoli to mark World Children’s Day. The event was organised by the European Parliament Office in Italy together with the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI). The Forum became an important European platform for an informed and responsible discussion of the fate of Ukrainian children affected by the war.
The Forum brought together representatives of the European Parliament, Ukrainian state institutions, Italian municipalities, human rights organisations, academics and educators. Participants included European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno, Director of the European Parliament Office in Italy Carlo Corazza, the European Parliament’s representative for children’s rights Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, representatives of Ukrainian regional administrations and education departments, human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Romantsova, Prof. Vasyl Kostetskyi, member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, as well as leading academics and experts.
The hybrid format, in person and online, made it possible to involve more than 300 participants, including Ukrainian and Italian schools — a symbolic reminder of the importance of educational, intercultural and intergenerational dialogue.
The Psychological Dimension of War: The Address That Set the Tone for the Discussion
One of the Forum’s key speakers was Nataliia Shmarova, PhD in psychology, a specialist in the psychology of migration and integration, an international mediator, a researcher at Lesya Ukrainka National University, and a member of the association of political psychologists and the association of clinical psychologists.
In her address, Nataliia Shmarova presented the project for a European Centre for Psychological Resilience and Intercultural Mediation, an initiative to build a lasting system of psychological support, within a European context, for children who have lived through war and forced migration. It attracted considerable professional interest and received a positive response from European and Ukrainian partners.
The speaker stressed that a war does not end when the fighting stops. Its psychological consequences stay with children for a long time — at school, in their families, in the new countries where they live. That is why supporting Ukrainian children in Europe is not merely a humanitarian gesture but a long-term investment in the psychological health of European societies and in the future of generations to come.
The Centre project presented by Nataliia Shmarova was received as a response to the pressing challenges facing Europe today, arising from the consequences of war, mass migration and the intercultural adaptation of children and families. Forum participants noted the coherence of the concept and its grounding in a combination of a scientific approach and many years of practical work.
Particular attention was drawn to the fact that the initiative builds on Dr Shmarova’s more than 25 years of professional experience working with migrants in Italy and other European countries, as well as on international research cooperation.
Nataliia Shmarova holds a full university degree in psychology and master’s degrees in psychology and in international relations; she completed professional training and internships in Italy (Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli) and holds international certifications in mediation and intercultural communication. She has worked with Italian research institutions, including ISMU (Milan), and is the author of a scientific monograph and more than 30 academic publications on the psychology of migration and social adaptation.
An important part of her professional path is her many years of work in Italy in cross-cultural psychology and intercultural mediation, together with her experience working with the Consulate of Ukraine in Italy as a diplomatic-level interpreter and international mediator. This interdisciplinary and intercultural experience allows her to work where psychology, research and European institutional processes meet.
The Forum in Rome showed that protecting Ukrainian children is a shared responsibility of Ukraine and Europe. The high standard of the event’s organisation was made possible by the well-coordinated work of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI), led by Larysa Levchun, who provided strategic coordination and brought key international partners together around the event.
A significant contribution also came from Mario Fontana, President of the association Sostieni Ucraina, whose consistent support for Ukraine and active involvement in humanitarian initiatives helped make the Forum a success.
Nataliia Shmarova’s address and the project she presented were an important part of this shared conversation — professional, in-depth and, at the same time, humane — which lays the foundation for long-term programmes supporting children who have lived through war and creates real cooperation projects between Ukraine and Europe.
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