From today until October 6, 2025, Ukraine is hosting the Jubilee of Hope, an apolitical solidarity initiative promoted by the European Movement for Nonviolent Action (MEAN). Among the various events scheduled, one of the most significant will take place at the Beketov University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, an institution that also offers an arts program: here, students, faculty, and activists will gather around Michelangelo Pistoletto's Third Paradise, a universal symbol of rebirth and co-creation.

The event, organized in collaboration with the Apostolic Nunciature of Kyiv and with the support of Rector Igor Biletsky, is particularly significant for the city of Kharkiv, located just thirty kilometers from the front and subjected to constant bombardment. Despite the difficulties, the university has chosen to embrace the language of art as a tool of resilience and hope.

The MEAN expedition, composed of over one hundred Italian and European activists, was coordinated by Doriano Zurlo, the movement's representative for the initiative in Ukraine, along with Alessandro Alliaudi, Rebirt/Terzo Paradiso ambassador, who was present to document the event and represented Cittadellarte.

In a video message sent to Ukrainian students and artists, Michelangelo Pistoletto shared a thought on the meaning of his symbol and the need to build Peace as an active and preventative choice: "Between war and peace lies the possibility of choice through production, the work that can be done through art, through creation. The Third Paradise is a symbol that unites opposing elements and, in their encounter, generates something new: Peace. Peace must not come after war, but must be prepared before war. The only true truth to believe in is that you cannot kill a human being: if you kill a human being, you are a beast. You must be the creators of this new humanity by creating preventative Peace".

This encouragement is addressed to the younger generations, forced to endure the abuses of a ferocious humanity that attempts to undermine their ability to imagine a free future. In this scenario, Ukrainian youth—like all of us—are called to find the strength to resist and cultivate the vision of a tomorrow in which art becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and an instrument of creative resistance. After imagining it together, side by side, we can try to build it concretely: and the only way to achieve this, as the master reminds us, is to continue studying, creating, loving, and dedicating ourselves to what makes us feel good. Thus, the Third Paradise in Kharkiv—like Michelangelo's words—is not limited to an artistic event, but asserts itself as a symbolic act that calls for the urgent need for a shared commitment to a just and lasting peace, reiterating that, as Pistoletto warns, "we cannot feed on human beings".