Ukrainian Association of South Africa Українська Асоціація в ПАР

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Ukrainian Association of South Africa Українська Асоціація в ПАР

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"Ukrainian Association of South Africa" is a volunteer non-profit association ( NPO 189-705).

Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UAZA) is a collaborative association in South Africa which strives to promote Ukraine, its culture, language and interests as of independent democratic country. UAZA head office is in Cape Town, but we invite Ukrainians and Ukrainian supporters from all areas of South Africa to become members. For more details visit www.uaza.co.za or contact us on [email protected]

01/11/2026

🇺🇦🇿🇦 What happens when law, art and culture meet in the same conversation?

A study of history can become a conversation about connection. A discussion about art can open a door between people who might never have met otherwise.

This is what happens when people from different countries and disciplines come together to exchange knowledge and experiences.

For Winter School participant Anzanilufuno Munyai, learning about Ukraine’s history, and the historical and cultural similarities it shares with South Africa, broadened her perspective well beyond the law.

She was struck by how art and culture can bring people from different spaces together to talk, and by how well that approach works.

But perhaps the most telling part of her reflection was what it changed. Anzanilufuno came away with a deeper appreciation for the value of art, culture and dialogue alongside her legal training.

Her experience captures why Ukrainian-South African academic collaboration matters. It is not simply about sharing information. It is about creating spaces where different perspectives meet, understanding grows and knowledge travels beyond the people in the room.
Ukrainian Institute - Український інститут Фундація культурної дипломатії - The Cultural Diplomacy Foundation Фундація Множина Міжнародний фонд "Відродження"

That same commitment to dialogue and shared learning is behind our upcoming hybrid conference, Ukraine in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle, on 12 November.

The conference will explore historical connections between Ukraine and South Africa and create space for further research and discussion.

📣 Call for Abstracts | Deadline: 1 November

We invite researchers and scholars to contribute to this conversation.

🔗 https://www.uaza.co.za/facilitating-cooperation/ukraine-in-the-anti-apartheid-struggle/

31/10/2026

🌾 Under attack, and still feeding others.

Over 324,000 tonnes of food. Delivered to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Palestine.

That is Grain from Ukraine, a humanitarian initiative that has kept moving through a full-scale invasion. Ports have been struck. Ships have been targeted. And still the grain goes out, to the places where hunger is closest.

A country fighting for its own survival is choosing to feed people thousands of kilometres from its borders. That says something about who Ukraine is.

For many across this continent, Ukrainian grain is not an abstraction. It is the bread on the table, the oil in the pan, the price at the till.

Did you know Ukrainian food was reaching this far into Africa? Tell us in the comments.

Follow to Discover SA & UA Culture Connects.

30/10/2026

A Ukrainian poem written in 1845 still speaks to anyone who has fought for the right to exist.

Taras Shevchenko’s “Testament” (Zapovit) is one of the world’s most widely translated non-religious poems. The 1989 anthology devoted to it contains 150 translations, while other published sources give totals of 147 and 163.

Written under the rule of the Russian Empire, the poem begins with a deeply personal request: bury me in my beloved Ukraine, among its wide plains, where I can hear the Dnipro. It then becomes a call to his people to rise, break their chains and claim their freedom.

Shevchenko himself was punished for his writings and political views. In 1847, the Russian imperial authorities prohibited him from writing and drawing. Yet his words endured.

Today, they resonate with renewed urgency. In 2022, during russia’s full-scale invasion, Shevchenko’s monument in Borodianka, near Kyiv, was damaged. The image of the wounded monument became a powerful reminder that Ukraine’s cultural heritage is also under attack.

In occupied territories, Ukrainian books have been seized or removed from libraries and schools, and cultural heritage has been targeted. The struggle is not only for land, but also for the right of Ukrainians to preserve their identity, language, history and future.

This is part of what makes “Testament” so powerful today. Its words belong to Ukraine, yet its longing for freedom, dignity and the right to determine one’s own future speaks across borders and generations.

South Africans know their own history of struggle for freedom, language and dignity.
Written in 1845. Still resonating wherever people refuse to live in chains.

Has “Testament” reached your language?

29/10/2026

With deepest sorrow, the Ukrainian Association of South Africa mourns the passing of our friend and supporter, Dr Desmond D’Sa, a person who could never remain indifferent to injustice against people or nature, and who stood firmly with Ukrainians in the face of russian invasion.

Dr D’Sa understood that nature is the first victim of war and he did not watch silently, but acted and stood in solidarity with Ukrainians and other people who faced injustice. He also advocated for Ukrainian children forcibly deported by russia, aiming for their return to families.

Thank you. Siyabonga. Ons is dankbaar. Дякуємо.
When such a big tree falls, it cannot easily be replaced. But thousands of those whose lives you touched will carry forward the energy and inspiration that you so generously shared with everyone around you.

For decades, Dr D’Sa stood up for the rights of vulnerable communities, defended the dignity of ordinary people, and fought for a cleaner, safer and more just South Africa. In 2014, he received the Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa in recognition of his leadership in the campaign and his wider environmental justice work.

We extend our deepest condolences to Dr D’Sa’s family, loved ones, colleagues and the communities whose lives he touched. May his legacy of courage, solidarity and service to humanity continue to inspire generations to come.

We will remember you.
Rest in peace.
Rus in vrede.
Lala ngokuthula.
Вічна пам’ять. 🕯️

28/10/2026

Ukrainian language is written using a 33-letter Cyrillic alphabet. It includes letters unique to Ukrainian, such as Ї, Є, І, and Ґ, which represent sounds and phonemes that distinguish it from other Slavic languages.
Ukrainian belongs to the East Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. Written forms of Ukrainian can be traced to the 11th–12th centuries through manuscripts and chronicles of Kyivan Rus. The language continued to evolve through Old East Slavic, Ruthenian, and Early Modern Ukrainian before the modern literary standard was established in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Due to its geographical location, Ukrainian has been influenced by neighbouring languages, including Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, and Crimean Tatar. Beyond Ukraine, Ukrainian is spoken by historic and recent diaspora communities across Europe and the Americas. It has co-official municipal status in several municipalities in the Brazilian state of Paraná and is recognised as a regional or minority language in countries including Romania, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where legislation protects its use in education, culture, media, and, in some localities, public administration.
From the 17th to the early 20th century, the use of Ukrainian was repeatedly restricted in the Russian Empire. In 1627, the Moscow Patriarch ordered the destruction of Ukrainian-language religious books. Later, the Valuev Circular (1863) and the Ems Ukaz (1876) prohibited or severely restricted the publication, education, and public use of Ukrainian, including music sheets. These policies sought to promote linguistic and cultural assimilation rather than recognise Ukrainians as a separate nation.
Ukrainian language is not available in russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. An OSCE report published in 2026 documented restrictions on Ukrainian-language education and testimony that opportunities to study Ukrainian had disappeared in occupied areas.

Which one is your favorite? Comment your favorite Ukrainian word with one of these letters, and share this with someone who is learning.

#МоваЄ

27/10/2026

✨ Today, Ukrainians across the world joined in writing the annual radio dictation — a tradition that unites us through the beauty of our language. From South Africa, many wrote online, but we also gathered in person at two special places:

📍 In Cape Town, thanks to the Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UAZA)
📍 In Pretoria, at the Embassy of Ukraine to South Africa

The Ukrainian language is more than words — it is our memory, our identity, and our bridge across continents. Every dictation is not just a test of knowledge, but a celebration of unity and resilience. 🌍💙💛

Together, whether online or side by side, we proved once again: the Ukrainian language connects hearts no matter the distance.

26/10/2026

Все буде добре · Vse bude dobre. Everything will be all right. 🌻
Not a promise. Not a prediction. A decision. Said in bomb shelters and hospital corridors, sent in messages across frontlines, whispered to children who asked questions no child should have to ask. Все буде добре became the quiet anthem of a people who had every reason to stop believing and chose not to.
It is not naive. It is the most defiant thing a human being can say when everything around them is falling apart. To look at the darkness and say, with full knowledge of what the darkness contains, everything will be all right.
Ukraine has been saying it every single day. We believe them. 💛

#всебудедобре #Мова

25/10/2026

Ukrainian Writing and Language Day, 27 October ✍️

On Tuesday 27 October, at 11:00 Kyiv time (11:00 SAST), Ukrainian Radio reads one text aloud, live. Everyone who joins writes it down by hand at the same moment, in schools, offices, libraries, living rooms and on trains. It began in 2000, and this year is the 27th Radio Dictation of National Unity.

There is no age limit and no entry test. If you are learning Ukrainian, you belong. If you grew up speaking it at home, you belong. If you only know a few words, bring a pen anyway.

How to join:
Watch live on the Ukrainian Radio YouTube channel, or through the suspilne.radio and Diia apps. Write what you hear, by hand. Afterwards, check your text against the official version once it is published.

Comment “I’m in” below and bring someone along. Tag the person you would write it with.

23/10/2026

A generation of Ukrainian artists was silenced. Their work survived. Today, their stories carry a renewed urgency.

In the 1920s, Ukrainian writers, artists and theatre-makers created a cultural renaissance. They reclaimed their language, transformed Ukrainian art and imagined a future on their own terms.

By the late 1930s, Soviet repression had taken the lives of many of them. Their works were censored, murals destroyed and names pushed out of public memory. They became known as the Executed Renaissance.

Today, russia’s war against Ukraine continues to take the lives of those who create, document and preserve Ukrainian culture.

Ballet dancer Artem Datsyshyn, poet Nadiya Agafonova, writers Viktoriya Amelina and Volodymyr Vakulenko are among those killed during the full-scale invasion. Their stories are among many - a reminder that behind every number is a person, a body of work and a future that was taken away.

The circumstances of these two periods are different. But the loss of Ukrainian lives and cultural voices is not confined to history books. It is happening now.

Remembering those who were killed matters. So does protecting those who are still here. Ukraine needs continued international attention, solidarity and practical support to help save lives and preserve the culture that generations have carried forward.

Culture can be attacked. A nation’s voice cannot be erased, as long as we remember—and stand together.

PEN Ukraine documents the cultural figures killed during russia’s full-scale invasion: https://killedculturemakers.pen.org.ua/en

22/10/2026

🇺🇦🇿🇦 What happens when learning becomes a shared responsibility?

A conversation about language can become a conversation about identity. A discussion about war can lead to questions about colonialism, the environment and the future of our communities.

This is what happens when people from different countries and backgrounds come together to exchange knowledge and experiences.

For Winter School participant Anele Kose Anele Kose, engaging with Ukrainian history, Crimean Tatar culture and the experiences of people living through russia’s war brought a new understanding of what it means to defend one’s language and identity.

He was also struck by the environmental consequences of the war, including stories of birds using wires from drones to build their nests.

But perhaps the most important part of his reflection was what comes next.

Anele spoke about taking what he had learned back to his community, universities and civil society organisations, and about the need for more opportunities for young people to understand events beyond their immediate surroundings.

“My weapon is literature.” — Anele Kose

His words capture why Ukrainian–South African academic collaboration matters. It is not simply about sharing information. It is about creating spaces where different perspectives meet, understanding grows and knowledge travels beyond the people in the room.
Ukrainian Institute - Український інститут Фундація культурної дипломатії - The Cultural Diplomacy Foundation Фундація Множина Міжнародний фонд "Відродження"

That same commitment to dialogue and shared learning is behind our upcoming hybrid conference, Ukraine in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle, on 12 November.

The conference will explore historical connections between Ukraine and South Africa and create space for further research and discussion.

📣 Call for Abstracts | Deadline: 1 November

We invite researchers and scholars to contribute to this conversation.

🔗 https://www.uaza.co.za/facilitating-cooperation/ukraine-in-the-anti-apartheid-struggle/

Address

Cape Town
7700

Website

https://linktr.ee/uaza

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