On 24 September 2026, the International Academic Congress “Only to Fight Is to Live…” opened at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, marking the 170th anniversary of Ivan Franko’s birth. Over the course of three days, scholars from Ukraine and abroad will explore the legacy of Ivan Franko, the Stone-Hewer, as a writer, thinker, public figure, and one of the figures who shaped the modern Ukrainian nation.
The official opening of the Congress took place in the University’s Assembly Hall and began with the National Anthem, followed by a minute of silence in memory of the fallen heroes. Rector of Lviv University Roman Gladyshevskii, Professor and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, then delivered his welcoming remarks. Addressing the participants of the plenary session, he emphasised the many facets of Ivan Franko’s legacy and the academic community’s responsibility to engage with it and carry it forward. “For the academic community of Lviv University, one of Ukraine’s leading centres for Franko studies, this responsibility means not only preserving the memory of Franko and revisiting and reinterpreting his work, but also building on his intellectual legacy. The leitmotif of this year’s Congress comes from Franko himself: ‘Only to Fight Is to Live.’ Sadly, in today’s reality, these words have taken on not only a metaphorical but also a literal meaning. Yet for Ivan Franko himself, the struggle for Ukraine was never an abstract concept either,” Roman Gladyshevskii said.
Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk also addressed the Congress. She focused on Ivan Franko’s political activities and his contribution to shaping the idea of Ukrainians as a political nation. According to Kondratiuk, the issues Franko grappled with — statehood and political agency, the effectiveness of democratic institutions, education, and civic responsibility — remain particularly relevant today. “We are accustomed to seeing Franko as a poet, thinker, and philosopher, but he was also an active politician and public figure — an exceptional, European-minded and modern figure for his time. He reminds us that democracy requires daily effort, that political culture must be strengthened, and that freedom and state-building are impossible without solidarity, political participation, and responsibility for the choices we make,” Olena Kondratiuk stressed. She also highlighted the importance of education and of engaging young people in civic life.
Deputy Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Oleksandr Kulepin noted that Ivan Franko’s legacy continues to reveal new meanings and resonates particularly strongly with Ukrainians at a time when they are fighting for their independence. “It is important that this Congress is taking place here in Lviv, the city where Ivan Franko spent a significant part of his life. I want everyone who is studying in Ukraine today and contributing to its development to stand together, united by the sense of solidarity we need in our struggle for our country,” Kulepin said.
Yaroslav Hasiak, Chief of Staff of the Lviv Regional Council, also spoke about the continued relevance of Franko’s ideas. He recalled that the Regional Council had declared 2026 the Year of Ivan Franko and highlighted the remarkable breadth of Franko’s work. “We cannot claim to know everything about Ivan Franko. When we study him, for example, as a playwright, we also discover Franko the economist, politician, and public figure. Ivan Franko’s ideas are about the values that unite us,” Yaroslav Hasiak said.
Iryna Kulynych, Deputy Mayor of Lviv for Humanitarian Affairs, emphasised that Ivan Franko’s legacy remains close to Ukrainians today and that the words chosen as the title of the Congress resonate with particular force in the present day. “Franko is with us not only in the names of events and in monuments. He is part of our everyday lives, in our culture, education, and struggle. ‘Only to Fight Is to Live’: today, Ukrainian service members, healthcare workers, teachers, volunteers, and people across many other professions are all fighting in their own ways. Sadly, this struggle continues, and Franko’s words help us make sense of it,” Kulynych said.
Roman Kushnir, President of the Shevchenko Scientific Society (SSS), Professor and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, devoted his address to Ivan Franko’s many years of work with the Society. He spoke about Franko’s involvement in its scholarly sections and commissions, his work on editing and preparing the Society’s publications, and his contribution to the development of its library and museum. “Ivan Franko was an outstanding and remarkably versatile scholar, publisher, and organiser of Ukrainian scholarship. Engaging with the full scope of his scholarly legacy remains an important task for researchers today. And his words resonate particularly strongly with us now as we defend our independence and our identity,” Kushnir emphasised.
The official opening of the academic forum concluded with a musical performance by Euphonia, a choir made up of students from the Choral Conducting programme at the Faculty of Culture and Arts and directed by Vasyl Chuchman.
Following the opening ceremony and welcoming remarks, the plenary session moved on to its academic programme. The presentations explored Franko’s understanding of nationhood and social progress, the reception of his prose by European critics, the distinctive features of his intellectual and creative versatility, and Lviv’s role in shaping the Ukrainian cultural landscape.
In particular, Mykola Zhulynskyi, Professor and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, examined Ivan Franko’s vision of the nation as a cultural whole, focusing on the writer’s role in shaping Ukrainian cultural unity. Yevhen Nakhlik, Director of the Ivan Franko Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, examined Franko’s understanding of the patterns of social progress — an issue that remains relevant to understanding the transformations taking place today.
Another dimension of Franko’s work was explored by Mykhailo Hnatiuk, Professor and Head of the Department of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Philology of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. His presentation focused on Franko’s philological scholarship and the way it combined positivist and psychological approaches.
Bohdan Tykholoz, Director of the Ivan Franko National Literary and Memorial Museum in Lviv, in turn explored the remarkable breadth of Ivan Franko’s creative and intellectual work, presenting him as a thinker whose work spanned literature, scholarship, and civic life. Jarosław Poliszczuk, Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, explored Lviv as both a Ukrainian and a universal city, tracing the formation of its cultural text through the works of writers across generations, from Ivan Franko to Victoria Amelina.
As part of the Congress, a commemorative oak marking the 170th anniversary of Ivan Franko’s birth was planted outside the University building at 4 Hrushevskoho Street. Rector of Lviv University Roman Gladyshevskii and Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk took part in the tree-planting ceremony. The occasion held particular significance because of the tree’s origins: the oak was brought from Nahuievychi, Ivan Franko’s birthplace.
In the afternoon, the Congress continued with nine thematic sections covering philosophy, literary studies, linguistics, folklore studies, art history, education, museum studies, and the history of Franko studies. The thematic sessions will continue on 25 September.
In the section “Ivan Franko as a Universal Figure: Worldview and Biography,” researchers focused on Franko’s humanism, his views on national identity, and his reflections on war, heroism, and social development. The section will continue with a focus on the writer’s biography, including his family background, his experiences of education and work, accounts by his contemporaries, and the history of research into his life.
The section “The Versatility of Franko Studies: From Academic Research to Museum Practice” brought together presentations on preserving and presenting Franko’s legacy. Participants explored the development of Franko House as a cultural space, the potential of museum projects and guided tours, as well as ways of commemorating the writer in Ukraine and among Ukrainian communities abroad. The following day will turn to the history of Franko studies and its digital future, including digital archives and the use of emerging technologies in research.
Poetry, prose, and approaches to interpreting them were the focus of the section “Ivan Franko’s Literary Universe: Aspects of Poetics.” On the first day, researchers examined biblical imagery in the poem “Moses,” the collection “My Emerald,” the poetics of individual works, and connections between Franko’s poetry and literature from other periods. Further discussions will turn to Franko’s fiction, exploring its imagery, genre features, psychological depth, and engagement with social issues.
Franko’s engagement with the wider cultural world is the focus of the section “Ivan Franko and World Culture.” Participants examined his correspondence, German-language writings, publications in the Viennese press, and cultural ties with Croatia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The following day’s programme will include comparisons between Franko’s works and European literature, as well as an exploration of how his work has been received beyond Ukraine.
The section “Ivan Franko: Contacts, Receptions, and Parallels” explored Franko’s personal and creative relationships with his contemporaries. The presentations drew on his correspondence, the history of his collaborations and debates with Ukrainian intellectuals, and his influence on cultural figures. The section will continue with an exploration of how Franko and his work were interpreted by writers of subsequent generations, including those in the Ukrainian diaspora.
The section “Ivan Franko in the Context of Oral and Written Traditions: Literary and Folklore Studies” explored Franko’s work as a literary historian, theorist, and critic. Researchers examined his studies of early literature, the Ukrainian literary tradition, the works of Taras Shevchenko, and the literary developments of his time. The next session will focus on Franko’s work with folk songs, prayers, legends, and other folklore and ethnographic materials.
Franko’s linguistic legacy is the focus of the section “Ivan Franko: Linguistic Perspectives.” On the first day, participants discussed his views on the development of the Ukrainian language, his contributions to dialectology, terminology studies, and onomastics, as well as the potential of using Franko’s texts in Ukrainian language teaching. The programme will continue with an analysis of vocabulary, grammar, and patterns of communication among characters in his works.
The section “Ivan Franko through the Lens of Art History” explores Franko’s connections with music, the visual arts, theatre, and cinema. Participants have already examined his views on art, illustrations of his works, and musical interpretations of his poetry. The following sessions will focus on stage and screen adaptations of Franko’s work, as well as its place in contemporary arts education.
The writer’s educational ideas were the focus of the section “Ivan Franko: Educational Thought and Teaching Practices.” Researchers examined Franko’s views on upbringing, child development, and the role of education in individual lives and society. The section will continue with a focus on applying his educational legacy in contemporary teaching, from literature education to interactive learning activities for children.
On 25 September, the Congress will continue with thematic sessions, followed by the roundtable “Scripta manent / The Written Word Remains” in the University’s Mirror Hall. The discussion will focus on the digitisation and scholarly study of Ivan Franko’s creative legacy. Researchers from Kyiv and Lviv will take part, with Bohdan Tykholoz, Director of Franko House, moderating the discussion.
The day’s programme will also include four exhibitions. “Facets of a Genius” will feature 30 portraits of Ivan Franko by Ukrainian painters and graphic artists of the twentieth century, along with an icon and a seal from the church where Franko was baptised. “A Dynasty of Creators: Ivan Franko and His Family in Ukrainian History and Culture” will explore the history of the Franko family, while the book exhibition “Between Anniversaries: A Decade of Franko Studies (2016–2026)” will introduce visitors to recent research on Franko’s legacy. The University’s Research Library will also host the contemporary art exhibition “Franko Laboratorium 4.0: Manuscripts.”
The programme for 26 September will include guided tours of the Nahuievychi State Historical and Cultural Reserve and the Ivan Franko National Literary and Memorial Museum in Lviv.
