This summer school explores peace efforts related to the war in Ukraine from political, legal, civil society, and cultural perspectives. Bringing together participants from across Europe – including Ukraine and the United Kingdom – this Summer School creates a unique space for European dialogue, academic exchange, and reflection on peace and Europe’s future.
Open to students from JGU and the Rhine-Main Universities, our 8 FORTHEM partner universities (in Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain), students from Cardiff University (UK), and students from universities across Ukraine.
When? 07 – 11 September 2026 (for CU students: 07 – 18 September 2026)
Where? Campus Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Course language: English
ECTS: 3
Tuesday, 8 September 2026, 4:15 p.m.
GFG 01.701, JGU Campus
Changes in the way we think of just war and just peace underpin legal and jurisprudential innovation, institutional reform and even justify illegal actions in pursuit of post conflict justice. Key to these changes is the concept of ‚humanity‘ and the notion that international law and justice has been humanised. This lecture offers a critical introduction to this concept and its role in helping us determine what goals we ought to seek and how we might achieve them.
Peter Sutch is Professor of Political Thought and International Relations at the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University.
Wednesday, 9 September, 5.30 p.m.
“Black Box” (College of Music, Jakob-Welder-Weg 28, JGU-Campus)
“Holding on to a Dream” is a 45-minute monodrama inspired by Iryna Feofanova’s Ten Kilometers. Through the voice of a single performer, the play follows a child’s haunting journey across landscapes scarred by war, where memories of loss and fragments of hope intertwine.
This production is presented by the Theatre Club of the Ukrainian Saturday School Mainz, an amateur group whose members bring their own perspective and dedication to sharing Ukrainian voices on stage.
What past participants say about our summer school: experience reports.
The application phase is now active and ends on the 1st of June 2026.
To apply, please send the following documents via email to sowiso@uni-mainz.de
- Motivation letter (ML) explaining your interest in the program, your relevant background, and what you hope to gain from participating (max. 300 words).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV): Include a concise CV outlining your education, relevant experience, and key skills.
- Transcript of Records (ToR): Please provide us with a recent official transcript demonstrating your academic performance and background.
Please make sure to attach the application documents as PDF and name them as shown in the following example:
- Shevchenko_Taras_ML
- Shevchenko_Taras_ToR
- Shevchenko_Taras_CV
We will inform you of the results during the second week of June. We will then invite all chosen applicants to an online group interview taking place in mid-June. Shortly after that we will announce our final decision to you via email.
Please also read this next section relating to travel expenses and accomodation.
Please note the following only applies if your main residence is in Ukraine and you are enrolled at a Ukrainian university.
We will cover travel expenses with a fixed contribution of €250 and provide accommodation for each selected participant from Ukraine.
The travel cost contribution is a fixed amount of €250 and does not depend on your actual travel expenses to Mainz. You will receive €250 regardless of whether your travel costs are higher or lower. We have based this amount on a rough cost estimate for travelling from Kyiv to Mainz by bus.
The accommodation we provide is in a modern hotel near the Rhine river. It has a good bus connection to campus and is close to the city center. We offer shared rooms with 4 students per room. Breakfast at the hotel is also included. The link to the hotel can be found here. The room will be available from Sunday, 6th of September until Saturday 12th of September. So you can plan your arrival for Sunday afternoon (06.09.) and departure for Saturday afternoon (12.09.).
If you are interested in the Summer School, please contact Prof. Peter Sutch directly (SutchP@cardiff.ac.uk).
The application phase is now active and ends on the 7th of June 2026.
To apply, please send the following documents via email to sowiso@uni-mainz.de
- Motivation letter (ML) explaining your interest in the program, your relevant background, and what you hope to gain from participating (max. 300 words).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV): Include a concise CV outlining your education, relevant experience, and key skills.
- Transcript of Records (ToR): Please provide us with a recent official transcript demonstrating your academic performance and background.
Please make sure to attach the application documents as PDF and name them as shown in the following example:
- Gutenberg_Johannes_ML
- Gutenberg_Johannes_ToR
- Gutenberg_Johannes_CV
We will inform you of the results during the second week of June.
The application phase is now active and ends on the 7th of June 2026.
To apply, please send the following documents via email to sowiso@uni-mainz.de
- Motivation letter (ML) explaining your interest in the program, your relevant background, and what you hope to gain from participating (max. 300 words).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV): Include a concise CV outlining your education, relevant experience, and key skills.
- Transcript of Records (ToR): Please provide us with a recent official transcript demonstrating your academic performance and background.
Please make sure to attach the application documents as PDF and name them as shown in the following example:
- Gutenberg_Johannes_ML
- Gutenberg_Johannes_ToR
- Gutenberg_Johannes_CV
We will inform you of the results during the second week of June.
The application phase has already been completed and we are now selecting participants. Thank you for your many applications! We will publish the results on May 16th.
If you have any questions about the Summer School or the application process, please send an email to sowiso@uni-mainz.de.
Coordination:
Dr. Barbara Müller and Jan Koloska (SoWi?So!, Johannes Gutenberg University)
The Summer School is organized by the Faculty 02 Social Sciences, Media and Sport at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in cooperation with the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University and takes place on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University – with around 30,000 students, it is one of the largest universities in Germany.
