Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Reflections on Historical and Psychological Dimensions

April 12, 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

1219 International Affairs Building
420 W 118th St, 12th floor

This event is in-person for CUID card holders only. In-person attendees must be in compliance with Columbia University’s health protocols for returning to campus. Pre-registration, valid CUID card, and valid green pass are required for admittance. All other attendees may participate virtually on Zoom or YouTube.

Please join the Harriman Institute, the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR), and the SIPA Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy concentration for a talk by Mariam Antadze, project coordinator at the Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Fellow at the ISHR Human Rights Advocates Program. Moderated by Elise Giuliano (Harriman Institute).

Mariam Antadze will discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and its mental health and psychosocial implications on communities. Focusing on how war affects mental health and psychosocial development facilitates a better understanding of trauma experienced by people who are directly or indirectly affected. Among the topics Antadze will discuss: Russia’s post-Soviet invasions chronologically; what we have learned from Russia’s war in Georgia; understanding how sociopolitical and psychological factors interact in war trauma; psycho- and mental health needs that arise from war; and justice as a healing factor.

Mariam Antadze has been the project coordinator at the Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) since 2017. She has been advocating for the rights of individuals who are suffering the after-effects of trauma including the victims of 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the first interstate armed conflict on European soil in the 21st century, promoting and protecting their human rights internationally in front of the International Criminal Court. She has managed a number of projects at GCRT, supporting social empowerment and rehabilitation of women who are survivors of gender-based violence and domestic violence, to combat inequality and discrimination. Mariam is a participant in the 2021-22 Human Rights Advocates Program at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University. She holds the BA in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City university of New York.