The Academia Europaea expresses solidarity with partners in Ukraine – consequences for science and the humanities
A statement from Academia Europaea’s Board of Trustees.
Academia Europaea’s Board of Trustees have released the following statement:
“The Academia Europaea strongly supports the European Union member states, Switzerland, The United Kingdom and the EEA countries’ action against Russia’s belligerent attack on Ukraine, which is in violation of international law. We are following the positions of our partner Academies across Europe.
We are honoured to express our solidarity with all Ukrainian scholars of all disciplines, including our own members and non-members.
The Academia Europaea regards the Russian invasion as an attack on the fundamental values of freedom, democracy and self-determination, which in turn provide the basis for academic freedom and opportunities for academic cooperation.
The Academia Europaea members, are all distinguished international scholars. They have been elected because of their international status in the Sciences, the Humanities and the Social and Societal Sciences, as judged by their European colleagues and peers across our continent. We are proud to include members from the Ukraine and from the Russian Federation on equal terms. Science and scholarship thrive on open dialogue and collaboration. We are therefore especially saddened by this unprovoked action by the Russian government against the Ukraine, which seeks to destroy what we stand for – open dialogue and collaboration of equals. As an organisation, we have always maintained diverse and productive academic collaborations with all our members, from all European countries and we certainly will seek to continue this.
The Academia Europaea is aware of the consequences of this military action and at the same time deeply regrets the impact it will have on freedoms, including academic freedoms. We live in a multidimensional world, and only by means of close international academic cooperation can the crises facing humanity, such as climate change, species extinction or infectious diseases, be overcome. For this reason, our solidarity also goes out to our long-standing Russian members who are themselves now the innocent victims of the Russian regime’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Academia Europaea has noted the statements issued by many other European National Academies and Scientific Organisations and we will continue to respond in concert with them. We are especially pleased to see and wish to thank unreservedly, those organisations with the capabilities, that are putting into place schemes to provide safe havens and funds for Ukrainian researchers. We applaud your efforts.”
Ole Petersen CBE FRS, Vice-President of Academia Europaea and Director of the AE-Cardiff University Hub, said:
“It is rare for academic societies to make pronouncements about political and military conflicts but in the current crisis, which is a serious threat to peace in Europe and the World, and therefore also to all scientific and scholarly work, it is our duty to speak up. The Board of Trustees of Academia Europaea, of which I am a member, has therefore issued this statement of solidarity with our friends and colleagues in Ukraine and condemned the Russian aggression. It is noteworthy that many members of the Russian Academy of Sciences have very courageously signed an open letter denouncing the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation and called for its immediate cessation. This is one of the few glimpses of hope in the current situation”.