The 2026 Keynote Forum will address one of the deepest challenges to contemporary security – the systematic manipulation and erosion of truth that accompany Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine and the wider democratic world. It will explore how the loss of truth undermines human dignity, civic trust, and the moral coherence of political life, while also examining the ethical, religious, and cultural resources needed to rebuild a truthful and just order. Drawing insights from theology, ethics, philosophy, and political thought, the symposium aims to reclaim truth, integrity, and resilience as strategic foundations of European and global security.

The forum is part of an expert symposium which is organized by the Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich), Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), and the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA) with the topic of „Moral and Religious Dimensions of Security“ and takes place ahead of the Munich Security Conference.

Greetings

Prof. Dr. Matthias Tschöp – President of Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich

Dr. Taras Dobko – Rector of Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv

Prof. Dr. Vittorio Hösle – Paul G. Kimball Professor of Arts & Letters, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Benedikt Franke – Vice-Chairman and CEO of the Munich Security Conference

Keynotes

Prof. Dr. Karl Schlögel (Berlin)
Expert in Eastern European history;
Recipient of the 2026 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

Maksym Butkevych (Kyiv)
Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist;
Recipient of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2025

Discussion

Cardinal Dr. Reinhard Marx
Archbishop of Munich and Freising

Prof. Dr. Katrin Boeckh
Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Regensburg / LMU Munich

Prof. Dr. Regina Elsner
Ecumenical Institute, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Münster

Moderator

Dr. Franziska Davies
Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam, co-president of the German-Ukrainian Society

Music

Katharina Farbova (Clarinet), Quirin Vogel (Piano)

Followed by a get-together