Six leading universities in the United Kingdom have joined the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies. This was announced by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
They became members during Ukrainian Week in the United Kingdom, “Discover Ukraine: A Week of Knowledge and Culture.” In London, representatives of the Fund of the President of Ukraine for the Support of Education, Science, and Sports, in cooperation with the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies, held meetings, workshops, and exhibitions.
The Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies now includes Queen’s University Belfast, Cardiff University, University of Cambridge, University of Portsmouth, Birkbeck, University of London, and Edge Hill University. These institutions will introduce new courses on Ukraine, implement exchange programs, and conduct joint research.
In an online address to the Ukrainian Week participants, Olena Zelenska emphasized the importance of a constant Ukrainian presence in universities around the world. According to the First Lady, investment in education and culture is part of shared European security.
“This is also about the ability to distinguish facts from falsehoods, resist manipulation, shed the Russian perspective on geopolitics that Russia has imposed on the world for years, and instead develop one’s own view based on solid knowledge. A person who possesses information, who can think critically and analyze, is a free person. A country whose citizens are informed not through social media but through academic sources is a country that will endure,” the President’s wife said.
Overall, this year alone, 24 universities from around the world have joined the coalition: from Canada and the United States to Norway, Austria, and Japan.