Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) is a format of online question-and-answer sessions for creating a niche, expert discussions that has gained significant popularity in the USA. During the session, a platform participant creates a post introducing themselves and the topic of discussion and then spends an hour answering users’ questions in the comments.

«There are various ways to talk about Ukrainian culture and traditions; the key is finding the best format for engaging with your chosen audience. In a world of global digitalisation, the Ukrainian Institute is implementing new ways of interacting with the international community, as this helps improve understanding of Ukraine and Ukrainians through platforms that are open for broad communication and exchange of thoughts, ideas, and proposals. This collaboration with Reddit platform became such a new format, allowing AMA session participants to hear each other despite the thousands of kilometres separating us», – noted Olha Yurkova, Head of the Cross-sectoral Programmes Department at the Ukrainian Institute.

Victoria Lialina-Boiko, Director of the Public Diplomacy and Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, answered users’ questions about Ukraine’s creative communications during the war, culinary diplomacy projects, and the role of gastro diplomacy in promoting Ukrainian culture and traditions. In particular, discussions with users covered initiatives such as «Honey from Minefields» and the Ministry’s campaign promoting the «Grain from Ukraine» initiative, addressed Russia’s attempts to appropriate Ukrainian culinary traditions, and discussed Ukrainian recipes and the realities of food preparation and consumption during wartime.

«Collaborating with Reddit is a relevant and valuable opportunity to tell global audiences about Ukrainian uniqueness, resilience, and creativity. Food might seem like a simple and obvious topic. Still, in discussing cuisine, we also talked about decolonisation, combating Russian disinformation, Ukrainian history and traditions, war challenges, and the extraordinary resistance of Ukrainians. I’m grateful to the Reddit team for this collaboration and hope this is just the beginning of our joint work», – noted Victoria Lialina-Boiko, Director of the Public Diplomacy and Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Tetyana Filevska, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute and curator of the “UKRAINE. Food & History” project spoke about cuisine as an inseparable part of Ukraine’s intangible cultural heritage, the historical transformations of Ukrainian cuisine, and its influence on global gastronomy. She shared tips and popular recipes from the book «Ukraine: Food and History». Responding to a platform user’s question about the war’s impact on food and nutrition in Ukraine, she said:

«I wish I had an hour to answer this question. In the first days of the invasion, people had no bread or milk, but markets were full of caviar, avocados, and other luxury products. Later, people began cooking to feed many displaced persons, and volunteer kitchens were established everywhere. Now we have stories about people from de-occupied territories feeding Ukrainian soldiers. An example is the pancakes from Balakliia».

The online sessions also included:

• Olena Braichenko – gastronomy culture researcher, founder of the Yizhakultura project, and editor-in-chief of «Yizhak» publishing house. She discussed contemporary Ukrainian cuisine.
• Marianna Dushar – anthropologist, researcher of Ukrainian diaspora cuisine in the USA and Galician food traditions. She spoke about the role of food in forming identity and a sense of belonging.

This event became an important initiative in promoting Ukrainian culture and highlighted the significant interest of the international community in Ukrainian cuisine and gastronomic traditions.