About Programs Fellowship News Calendar
Standing up for those who cannot protect themselves, Olena Prokopenko aids displaced children amidst Russia’s war in Ukraine
Photo Credit: Christian Streili
Olena Prokopenko is the first recipient of the Salzburg Global Seminar Walter and Gisela Roberts Scholarship, which provides opportunities for emerging leaders to attend Salzburg Global programs.
The Roberts Scholarship is dedicated to the memory of Walter and Gisela Roberts, who were involved with Salzburg Global Seminar for over six decades. Walter Roberts served as a faculty member, Board Member, and Senior Fellow in addition to receiving Salzburg Global’s highest honor, the Salzburg Cup. The scholarship is the result of a generous gift from their children and serves as a sign of the Roberts’ devotion to Salzburg Global Seminar and belief in its critical work.
Walter and Gisela were native Austrians who met in Vienna in 1935, were forced to flee in 1938, and married the following year in New York. As the Roberts were refugees themselves during a time of war, it is only fitting that Olena works with refugees and internally displaced people in Ukraine. Her work providing humanitarian aid helps “displaced children from south and east [Ukraine] study and live in another place”.
As the founder of a children’s rights charity fund, Olena works to “reduce the negative impact of war on Ukrainian children” and protect the rights of Ukrainian children living in Russian-occupied territories. Receiving the Roberts Scholarship enabled Olena to participate in the program Rights, Return and Reintegration: Dealing with Displacement and Deoccupation from June 4-8, 2023, as part of Salzburg Global’s Ukraine Civil Society Forum.
Walter Roberts was a scriptwriter and broadcaster for the Voice of America and enjoyed an accomplished career as a Foreign Service Officer at the US Department of State and the United States Information Agency. Walter further dedicated his life to public diplomacy by serving on the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and founding the (US) Institute for Public Diplomacy.
As Head of the Board of the (Ukrainian) Institute for Public Diplomacy, Olena shares Walter’s dedication to public diplomacy and believes that strategic communication is relevant for Ukraine today “for talking about the war, problems, and children. Public diplomacy is important because NGOs and leaders can show pictures to people in other countries and influence decision-making both during and after the war”. Olena showcased her photo exhibition Children in War at Schloss Leopoldskron from December 2022 until January 2023.
Olena reflected that her experience at Salzburg Global Seminar allowed her to “find interesting new colleagues for future communication and [I hope] to meet these people in the future, either here or another place, and do a project together”.