Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Ukraine and Us

Tensions at Home and Abroad Show no Signs of Easing. The long-awaited respite has not arrived, despite the receding pandemic and the lifting of long-term restrictions. In February, another serious issue replaced Covid-19. The entire world is now focusing its attention on Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces in February this year. In the weeks that followed, a war broke out in the country – an unprecedented conflict in terms of geopolitics and security threats in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Numerous countries around the world have actively engaged in humanitarian aid for the affected region, with the Czech Republic serving as a prime example of such efforts. The university, and by extension our faculty – which maintains ongoing contact with Ukrainian colleagues through an international cooperation project between Ukrainian and Czech universities – has not lagged behind in these activities. FHS responded shortly after the Russian invasion and, together with other higher education institutions, joined the organised event Students and Academics: #StandWithUkraine. On Wednesday 2 March 2022 at noon, our students, lecturers, and other staff gathered in front of the FHS building to observe a minute of silence for all those fighting in Ukraine, including for our freedom. Photographs from the event were sent to Ukrainian lecturers as a reminder that their fate and future matter to us.

Two weeks later, the faculty followed up the protest with a discussion meeting for UTB academic staff and students. The main goal of the two-hour debate Ukraine and Us, which took place on the morning of Wednesday 16 March, was to provide participants with deeper insight into the current situation and analyse the causes of the conflict as well as its social and political impacts. During the meeting, the audience was able to connect online with Dr. Galyna Usatenko from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her emotional speech significantly contributed to illustrating the overall situation and the prevailing sense of despair among Ukrainian citizens. An important point of the meeting was the final call to action and the clarification of specific requirements for aid implementation. Over the past months, the faculty has welcomed four Ukrainian students, who are participating in courses as part of the Erasmus+ programme while attending Czech language classes. This allows them to gradually prepare for continuing their university studies in the next academic year. Based on their fields of study, they may eventually join students from the Institute of Modern Languages and Literatures. We anticipate that the representation of Ukrainian students in our study programmes will continue to grow. Individual institutes have also gradually become involved in humanitarian activities. As early as March, students from the Institute of Health Sciences and the Institute of Pedagogical Sciences actively began contributing to aid efforts. They have, for example, completed their practical training at the Regional Assistance Centre for Aid to Ukraine (KACPU) on the premises of Baťa Hospital. During the lengthy refugee registration process, they primarily cared for children by engaging them in games or creative activities to pass the long hours of waiting, or they assisted with filling out registration forms. The Institute of Modern Languages and Literatures, together with the Centre for Language Education, also offered basic Czech language courses to Ukrainian refugees. At the end of April, thanks to the initiative of Dr. Bačuvčíková and the dedication of lecturers from CJV, two initially eight-week courses were launched and extended by 2.5 weeks, ultimately totalling 50 hours of instruction. The faculty provides these courses free of charge to Ukrainian citizens. Students from the Institute of School Pedagogy have participated in teaching and tutoring Ukrainian children at primary schools as part of their practical training. Tomas Bata University supports a wide range of humanitarian initiatives involving not only students and staff but also the broader public. Significant engagement was seen, for example, in the university’s material and food collection for Ukraine or the sale of artworks from the FMK project. In short, almost everyone found a way to contribute actively to the aid effort.