Last Friday, experts from the Institute for Behavioral Studies at AUK Volodymyr Vakhitov and Nataly Zaika presented the results of the study "The Way Home: Who among Ukrainian Refugees and Migrants Plan to Return" on the AUK Campus.
According to the research, about 50% of Ukrainian refugees who ended up in Poland after the full-scale invasion expressed their willingness to return to Ukraine. Most of them are women with children who continue to study remotely in Ukrainian schools and people of mature age, mostly Ukrainian-speaking and parishioners of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Among those who would like to return in the near future or someday, there are people with a more pronounced Ukrainian identity, those who feel proud of their country, have visited Ukraine more often and are more optimistic about the time of the end of the war.
Volodymyr Vakhitov noted, "It is necessary to encourage Ukrainians to visit their homes more often, and therefore, it is necessary to make it easier to cross borders. It can also be beneficial to forge stronger connections with Ukraine through the cultural and educational spheres and better integrate migrants and refugees into Ukrainian society."
We are grateful to Volodymyr Vakhitov and Nataly Zaika for the incredibly important research and practical recommendations on how the state and the corporate sector can encourage Ukrainians to return home.
