2015
Svyatoslav “Slava” Vakarchuk
Musician
Okean Elzy
Svyatoslav “Slava" Vakarchuk is a social activist and lead vocalist for Okean Elzy, the most successful rock band in Ukraine. As an activist, Slava supported the Orange Revolution and is founder of the non-profit “Lyudi Maybutnyogo” (People of the Future). People of the Future’s programs include: “Knyga Tvoryt’ Lyudynu” (A Book Creates A Man), “Osvita Krainoyu” (The Country’s Education), “3-D Proekt. Dumay, Diy, Dopomogai” (3-D Project. Think, Act. Help.). Alongside members of his band, he actively supported MTV and the UN International Organization for Migration’s campaign “People Are Not For Sale.”
In 2003, Slava became an Honorary Ambassador of Culture in Ukraine. In 2005 he was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme and became a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Expression and Information. In September 2008, he renounced his seat in the Verkhovna Rada party due to a corrupt political climate. In parliamentary elections in 2007, he appeared as an independent candidate on the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc's list. The Ukrainian magazine Korrespondent ranks him as one of the 100 most influential people of Ukraine.
The 2015 World Fellows
A Cuban performance artist, Indian conflict reporter, Ukrainian political activist (and rock star) and 13 other game-changing global leaders have been named 2015 Yale World Fellows. This cohort brings the total number of Yale World Fellows since the program’s start in 2002 to 275 Fellows, representing 84 countries. “I am delighted to welcome this incredible group of activists, artists, policy makers and key global players to Yale,” said incoming Yale World Fellows Director Emma Sky. “The Fellowship was designed to provide people like these – working tirelessly toward large scale change – a valuable opportunity to take a step back from the intensity of their work, to learn from and...Read More
MORE ABOUT SVYATOSLAV
Slava Vakarchuk: "Innovations That Pushed Boundaries" | Talks at Google
Ukraine’s Biggest Rock Star Doesn’t Want to Go Back Into Politics—Yet
The New Yorker - 11/24/2015Vakarchuk, meanwhile, is a cultural and intellectual force—and, though he has attempted to shed this identity, a much-loved political figure as well. In his early thirties, he became a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, before renouncing his seat in 2008 in protest of Ukraine’s corrupt political culture. Today, as the country struggles to rebuild amid economic turmoil and a roiling insurgency in the east, many are calling for Vakarchuk to reënter politics. He insists, though, that he can play a more unifying, and more influential, role as a musician, removed from the messy work of government.