This 1.5-hour event will delve into the complex realities of childhood during wartime, drawing insights from the research project 'Children and Social Cohesion: Vulnerabilities, Role, and Interests' (as a part of the project ‘Analysis of Social Cohesion and Conflict Sensitivity’ realised with the support of 'Save the Children' and 'PAX'). The discussion will present findings from eight focus group discussions with children (10-14 and 15-17 age groups) from internally displaced and local communities across Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts. By exploring children's personal stories, the event will highlight their experiences of war, challenges of internal displacement, adapting to new communities, and the long-term impacts of prolonged online learning. Particular attention will be given to the unique ways children perceive and respond to war-related events, often shaped by their dependence on parental decisions and the rapidly changing environments they navigate.

The session will also address the methodological and ethical challenges of researching children's experiences in conflict settings. Researchers must navigate sensitive topics while ensuring children’s emotional well-being, safety, and informed consent throughout the process. The discussion will emphasize the importance of creating safe, age-appropriate spaces for children to share their perspectives and the ethical responsibility to amplify their voices in a trauma-sensitive and respectful manner. By examining these issues, the event aims to foster a deeper understanding of how war impacts children, how research can contribute to more informed and empathetic responses to their needs and how researchers can address the sensitivities involved. 

• Speaker: Oksana Mikheieva is Professor of Sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), and from September 2023 to October 2024 she was a UNET fellow at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin. Previously, she was a DAAD Professor at the European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. Currently she is Professor of Sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv). During her time at ZOiS, she implemented a sociological study about young Ukrainians who were forced to migrate to the EU because of the war. 
• Discussant: Irina Mützelburg is a post-doctoral researcher in social science at ZOiS in the project Limspaces and has worked on the education of Ukrainian pupils displaced to Germany since 2022. She has conducted a survey among displaced Ukrainian parents and semi-structured interviews with parents and pupils in Germany.

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