The Setting

Over the course of a residency at NIROX and the Kromdraai Impact Hub, participants engaged in artistic exchange, community dialogue and collaborative reflection on two themes: our relationship with land and water and the rights and wellbeing of children in times of conflict and change.The final episode of these dialogues brought together artists, writers, and researchers from Ukraine and South Africa for an open public dialogue moderated by Thati Mokgoro.Participants of the discussion include Nataliya Gumenyuk, a Ukrainian journalist and author specializing in foreign affairs and conflict reporting; Żanna Słoniowska, a Ukrainian-born Polish novelist and academic; Hlonipha Mokoena, a South African academic and historian speaking on Ubuntu philosophy; Anastasiia Shcherban, Ukrainian artist, Olha Fedorova, Ukrainian artist; Thati Mokgoro, moderator, curator at TEDxJohannesburg.Shared Ground was organized by Ukrainian institute, NIROX Foundation in collaboration with Kromdraai Impact Hub, and supported by NGO ‘Cultural Diplomacy Foundation’, Democracy Works Foundation, Embassy of the Netherlands in Pretoria (South Africa), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria (South Africa), Ukraine Communications Group, Embassy of Ukraine to the Republic of South Africa.

Shared Ground hosted its second dialogue featuring novelist Żanna Słoniowska and historian Hlonipha Mokoena. The discussion reflected on the impact of armed conflict in Ukraine and the enduring legacy of apartheid in South Africa on children’s lives, the role of art, literature, and education in preserving dignity, and lessons both nations can share about healing historical trauma and safeguarding democracy.Moderated by Thati MokgoroShared Ground" was organized by Ukrainian institute, NIROX Foundation in collaboration with Kromdraai Impact Hub, and supported by NGO ‘Cultural Diplomacy Foundation’, Democracy Works Foundation, Embassy of the Netherlands in Pretoria (South Africa), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria (South Africa), Ukraine Communications Group, Embassy of Ukraine to the Republic of South Africa.

Shared Ground brings together artists and civil society voices from Ukraine and South Africa to explore how creativity can build bridges across borders, experiences, and cultures. Over the course of a residency at NIROX and the Kromdraai Impact Hub, participants engage in artistic exchange, community dialogue, and collaborative reflection on two themes: our relationship with land and water and the rights and well-being of children in times of conflict and change.For its first dialogue, Shared Ground hosted artists Anastasiia Shcherban, Olha Fedorova, and Diane Victor. The conversation explored soil and water as carriers of memory, their influence on creative practice, and insights from cross-cultural collaboration.Moderated by Thati Mokgoro.Shared Ground was organized by Ukrainian institute, NIROX Foundation in collaboration with Kromdraai Impact Hub, and supported by NGO ‘Cultural Diplomacy Foundation’, Democracy Works Foundation, Embassy of the Netherlands in Pretoria (South Africa), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria (South Africa), Ukraine Communications Group, Embassy of Ukraine to the Republic of South Africa.

In this special first episode, we invite you to simply listen — to the quiet rhythms of NIROX, where art and nature breathe as one. No conversation, just the immersive soundscape of the Cradle: birds, wind, distant water. It’s the backdrop to the NIROX Conversations— the foundation, the mood, the essence.