23 of March marks a historic milestone as the Ukrainische Freie Universität – Український Вільний Університет, in collaboration with prestigious German academic partners, officially opened the 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: “𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐗𝐗-𝐗𝐗𝐈 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲.”
Today marks a historic milestone as the Ukrainische Freie Universität – Український Вільний Університет, in collaboration with prestigious German academic partners, officially opened the 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: “𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐗𝐗-𝐗𝐗𝐈 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲.”
The air in the Aula was filled with a sense of profound responsibility and solidarity. As we enter the 5th year of the full-scale invasion (and the 13th year of Russian aggression), this week is not just about academic discourse – it is about the preservation of the Ukrainian spirit.
𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐒: 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐏 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄
The event began with a warm welcome from UFU Chancellor Dmytro Shevchenko, who provided a roadmap for the intensive week ahead.
Prof. Dr. Larysa Didkovska (Лариса Дідковська), Rector of UFU, delivered a moving keynote. She reminded us that for over a century, UFU has been a “lighthouse” for those forced to leave their homeland.
“𝑴𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 ‘𝑼𝒌𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆’ 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒂 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑴𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔, 𝒚𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚.”
Voices of partnership and heritage from Prof. Dr. Jana Osterkamp (Bukowina-Institut an der Universität Augsburg), Dr. Habil. Alexander Kratochvil (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), and Prof. Dr. Guido Hausmann (Think Space Ukraine / Universität Regensburg / IOS Regensburg) further strengthened the collaborative spirit. The morning sessions were capped by encouraging words from Consul General (Generalkonsulat der Ukraine in München) Yurii Nykytiuk, who emphasized the importance of engaging the diaspora in Ukraine’s eventual rebuilding.
𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟏 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒
Following the opening, the academic program dived into the complex history and urgent contemporary reality of Ukrainian migration:
▪️𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝: 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐡𝐝𝐞 (Universität Wien) and 𝐃𝐫. 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥. 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐯𝐢𝐥 (LMU Munich) explored the thriving cultural life Ukrainian émigrés built in Prague between the world wars.
▪𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐫. 𝐎𝐤𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐯𝐲𝐜𝐡 (Think Space Ukraine) led a critical seminar on the challenges of teaching Ukrainian in Germany, focusing on the pedagogical strategies needed for the hundreds of thousands of forcedly displaced Ukrainian students.
𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄: 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐔
The first day concluded with a gripping Round Table featuring Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (ViolavonCramon) (former MEP). Her address was a masterclass in political honesty:
▪️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟑-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫: She corrected the narrative, reminding us that the war began in 2014. She criticized the “strategic arrogance” of Western leaders who ignored warnings from the Baltics and Poland.
▪𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫”: Viola spoke candidly about how the “nuclear card” was used to delay vital military support.
▪𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦: She emphasized that EU integration is merit-based. “You don’t do these reforms for the EU; you do them for yourselves.”
“𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞.”
Text by Dr. Liliia Bondarenko
