Kyiv’s XIV International Book Arsenal Festival, held from May 28 to 31, once again confirmed its status as one of Ukraine’s leading cultural and intellectual events. More than 150 publishers and booksellers, nearly 240 events, and hundreds of Ukrainian and international writers, human rights advocates, soldiers, scholars, and public intellectuals gathered for four days of discussions on freedom, responsibility, war, memory, and the future. This year’s focus theme, “Carrying Freedom,” was curated by human rights defender, serviceman, and former Russian prisoner of war Maksym Butkevych. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The Ukrainian experience matters today because we are learning to understand freedom not as something individual, but as something collective,” Butkevych said. “We have survived and continue to endure thanks to solidarity.” The idea that freedom requires responsibility became one of the festival’s central themes. Among the most prominent speakers was Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk. Collage by Kyiv Post “There is a difference between a population and citizens,” she said. “A citizen is not merely someone who holds a passport, but someone who accepts responsibility.”