Ukraine: endangered academics welcomed to Inalco

Inalco and its Foundation are calling on you to support their commitment to protecting people and knowledge:

Syria, Afghanistan... today Ukraine. In the face of one crisis after another, one necessity prevails: that of protecting what makes us human, namely our history, our culture and those who preserve and pass them on.

L'Inalco, the only French institution to teach Ukrainian, with a centuries-old tradition of teaching and research in the cultural areas of Central and Eastern Europe, affirms its commitment in its own register:

Our aim: to welcome academics, Ukrainian and Russian, whose ability or freedom to accomplish their mission is hindered.

After Afghanistan, the Inalco Foundation is launching an appeal for solidarity to help ensure the emergency reception of 4 academics in danger and their families.

Very focused on Inalco's competencies, this campaign differs, by its scale and temporality, from the extraordinary surge of solidarity aroused by the crisis in Ukraine.

Fundraising objective: to raise €20,000 by June 30

(This objective may be adjusted, depending on circumstances that are by nature uncertain)

Once welcomed (some with their families), these academics will be able to pursue their mission of research or teaching the languages and civilizations of their cultural areas at Inalco, and continue to make them shine.

Their profiles:

Two Ukrainian academics have already arrived in France; we will soon be able to communicate more about their profiles:

Ukrainian Academic 1:

• Lecturer in sociology at Kyiv University, graduate of Cambridge University.
• Her most recent research has focused on conflict and the memory of conflict, with the Donbass as a more specific field of study.
• She will be hosted by CREE for her research and will teach in the Europe department.

Ukrainian scholar 2:

• Senior researcher at the Institute of World History of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, PhD in political science.
• Her work in recent years has focused on Ukrainian foreign policy, in particular European policy, as well as Polish-Ukrainian bilateral relations.
• She will be hosted by CREE for her research and will teach in the Europe department.

The two Russian academics have not yet joined France. For security reasons, their profiles are neutralized here:

Russian Academic 1:

• Politician, lecturer at a university in the Russian Federation.
• Active for several years in non-governmental organizations for the protection of human rights and civil liberties on a local or national scale.
• Her academic work focuses mainly on political violence and the links between traditions and the contemporary political field.
• In danger in Russia due to her public stance against the war in Ukraine.
• She will be hosted by CREE for her research and will teach in the Russian Studies department and in another department at Inalco.

Russian scholar 2:

• Russian scholar, specialist in ancient and contemporary Chinese history and culture.
• At risk in Russia due to her public stance against the war in Ukraine.
• She will be hosted by the Institut français de recherche sur l'Asie de l'Est, where she will be integrated into the teams working on the performing arts, in particular on contemporary Chinese and Taiwanese theater, and on photography, notably in China and Japan.

Their files are being examined by the program Pause, led by the Collège de France.

The Association des Amis et Anciens Élèves des Langues Orientales (AAEALO), with its remarkable contacts in Central and Eastern Europe, is giving its full support.

The Centre de Recherche Europes Asie (CREE), an Inalco research laboratory dedicated in particular to Central and Eastern Europe, is lending its full academic backing.

Your donation

Your donation to the Inalco Foundation is eligible for a tax reduction (articles 200, 238 bis and 978 of the French General Tax Code).

• Impôt sur le revenu : à hauteur de 66% du montant du don, à concurrence de 20% du revenu imposable
• IFI : à hauteur de 75% du montant du don, dans la limite de 50 000€

You will receive a tax receipt for this purpose.

For more information, contact us: fondation@inalco.fr