TRAVERSE CITY — The International Affairs Forum (IAF) at Northwestern Michigan College will host now-retired U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch for “An Evening with Marie Yovanovitch” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kirkbride Hall.
Alex Tank, IAF coordinator, said they strive to keep important issues in the spotlight, which is one of the reasons he invited former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Yovanovitch to speak.
“Since the invasion, we’ve been committed to covering this and talking about and educating our community on it,” Tank said. “It’s a topic that we want to make sure stays on the radar.
“The tendency is for the news cycle to move to the most recent conflict or the most recent flare-up or the most recent humanitarian crisis. But there are ones that linger and become prolonged and entrenched. Ukraine has become one of those and we don’t want to lose sight of the important ramifications for that conflict, for all of Europe and, really, democracy itself.”
Although she is now retired, Yovanovich is still passionate about support for Ukraine, and looks forward to the chance to speak about it.
“I obviously have a special place in my heart from Ukraine,” she said. “I spent six of my adult years living in Ukraine over two tours, two different tours.”
“It’s a democracy, a struggling democracy, like all of them, but a democracy that wants to be independent,” Yovanovitch said. “Ukraine is a country that is fighting for its democracy and fighting against corruption. And that is just that much harder in a country like Ukraine, which has a Soviet legacy, which is under attack in all areas from Russia.
“And yet the people of Ukraine still want to be living those values that we hold dear in the West – and certainly in the United States. So it was, on the one hand, a lot of hard work trying to help them … but it was also very inspiring to be there.”
While Yovanovitch’s most recognized position was her role in Ukraine, she also served as ambassador to Armenia (2008-2011) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2005-2008). She was removed from her post in Ukraine in 2019.
“I testified before Congress and that got the attention of a lot of Americans,” she said “I got thousands of letters from people in America, and some from overseas. Some people related their own personal experience. I mean, it was really touching – and at a moment when I really needed support.”
She said people told her they didn’t know much about the State Department and didn’t know what State Department officials do. They asked her to tell them more about foreign service.
“And so I wrote a book,” she said.
That 2022 memoir, “Lessons from the Edge,” will be available for sale during a book signing following Wednesday’s event.
IAF Coordinator Tank has been a part of the IAF team since 2020. With his assistance, they were able to transition to an online format for its speaker events, which not all world affairs councils have been able to do. Now, they frequently have hybrid availability for events, allowing for local attendees to be joined by a truly global audience.
“Our ability to connect on campus is very valuable because it creates this opportunity for an intergenerational audience that includes students from area high schools as close by as Traverse City Central High School,” Tank said. “With the livestream, we can reach high schools all around the area, all around the Northern Michigan region.”
“We also have NMC students, of course, from courses like political science, international relations, economics, world cultures, humanities, all those courses offer IAF to their students,” he said. “All IAF events are free for students and educators. That includes anyone who works in the school systems, public, private; anyone who’s in the field of education.
“We want to open this up with no barrier to entry, so no ticket fee for anyone who’s a student or educator.”
The IAF will wrap up its 30th season with an event featuring political demographer and former Ted Talk speaker, Dr. Jennifer D. Sciubba.
Its 31st season will resume on Sept. 18, 2024.