On 3 May 2023, project post-doc Maryna Rabinovych gave a talk, titled “Education and resistance: Ukrainian universities at war” at the event “Higher Education and Preserving Democracy” in terms of the Democracy Week in Kristiansand. Democracy Week is organized in Kristiansand on a yearly basis in connection with the Europe Conference in Kristiansand on the Europe Day on 5 March. This year many events of the Democracy week explore negative implications Russia’s war against Ukraine has had for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Ukraine and Europe, more broadly, and the ways European governments and civil society can address them.
In her talk, Maryna explained the challenges Ukrainian students, lecturers and researchers face at the government-controlled territories of Ukraine, the territories, currently occupied by Russia, as well as in European countries. She also gave an overview of various international and European initiatives, aimed at helping Ukrainian students and academics such as the Scholars at Risk initiative and the “Invisible University for Ukraine” initiative by the Central European University (CEU), and their significance for sustaining democracy in Ukraine and Europe. The talk was well-received by the audience, and the presenter got numerous questions regarding the structure and operation of Ukrainian universities at the wartime.