Igor Blystiv at the A2A Forum: A Common Cause

These were the themes explored by Igor Blystiv, CMO at Kormotech, Head of the Master’s Program in Marketing, and a passionate advocate for alumni communities at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), during his speech at the A2A Forum: A Common Cause, held on March 29 in Kyiv. The Alumni Association of the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School organized the event.

This year’s forum celebrated those who don’t just dream of change — they create it daily through cooperation, the wisdom of interaction, and the power of togetherness.

Speakers discussed how alumni communities are born and evolve, their influence on society, the best governance models, and the current landscape of alumni networks from top business programs in Ukraine.

“It’s essential to build an environment where people with shared values want to reconnect after graduation — to unite around common ideas and create something greater. Re-engaging with the community allows us to be useful — to ourselves, the university, society, and the Business School.”
Shared Igor during the panel discussion “Community in Action: Why Communities Exist and How They Grow.”

But this is about more than alumni ties. It’s about a culture of support that grows from trust and transforms into robust initiatives, from intimate gatherings to nationwide movements.

Among the community’s most visible projects are:

• Leadership Day, which brings together students and alumni,
• Alumni Awards, recognizing outstanding leaders in various fields,
• A reading club that has evolved into a full-fledged “community within the community,” complete with company visits, business case discussions, and deeper connections.

Of course, Igor Blystiv’s initiative—the UA Marketing Club—launched in November last year. It now brings together business school alumni and all those interested in marketing. Events are held in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv, and the club is steadily scaling to a national level.

UCU alumni communities are growing by 20–30% annually. These initiatives are born from trust, shared values, and a drive to act.

The forum served as a powerful reminder that change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s created by people, together.