MUNICH. - 100 years ago, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, co-author of the first draft of the charter of the Ukrainian Free University (UUU), wrote that the task of the university was first of all nation-building - in other words, the consolidation of Ukrainian identity and national consciousness, as well as the integration of Ukrainian education, science and culture into the world. During its hundred years of existence, UVU faithfully fulfilled this task.
UVU became a pioneer of Ukrainian science. In Prague, in addition to teaching general disciplines - archeology, history, geography, history of Roman literature, Greek mythology, jurisprudence, pedagogy, organic chemistry, political economy, foreign languages, etc., UVU actually developed the first purely Ukrainian educational programs and conducted courses on Ukrainian historiography and source studies, history of Ukrainian art, Ukrainian law, church, Ukrainian theater, ethnography, ethnology and archeology, history of Ukrainian language and writing, philosophy and pedagogy, geography of Ukraine, etc. These programs became the foundation of Ukrainian science.
UVU contributed to the emergence and development of other higher schools founded in Czechoslovakia. Among them are the Ukrainian Academy of Economics, the Ukrainian Higher Pedagogical Institute named after M. Drahomanova.
The Museum of the Liberation Struggle of Ukraine was created on the initiative of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The museum's collection consisted of materials related to the events of 1917-1921.
During the Cold War, UVU, which moved to Munich in 1945, served as the "voice of enslaved Ukraine." UVU conquered Soviet propaganda, proclaimed the truth about the history of Ukraine and its culture in its articles, books and radio broadcasts that went to Ukraine and around the world. With the help of UVU, the works of the sixties were printed.
Institutes for the study of national issues, German-Ukrainian relations, and a pedagogical institute were opened in Munich, which held courses for teachers of Ukrainian studies. Scientific notes appeared. Contacts were developed with foreign scientific institutions, centers in the USA, Canada, France. UVU organized conferences on the topics of the Ukrainian issue.
Thousands of Ukrainian students received their education when the doors of higher education institutions were closed to them in their native lands or it was impossible to return home. Graduates of UVU have become leading scientists, lecturers, political and public figures and leaders of the diaspora. In the 1990s, many graduates of UVU became the elite of Ukraine - scientists and writers, jurists and judges, political figures.
Today, when UVU is on the verge of its second century of existence, our main task has not changed, but the context and ways of doing things have changed.
UVU continues to be the voice of Ukraine in Europe - now free Ukraine. We are a window for Germans to Ukraine and a platform for dialogue about Ukraine in the European context. Our university hosts reports, international seminars and conferences with the participation of European, American and Ukrainian experts on the topics of the political and economic importance of Ukraine for the European Union, the role of Ukraine in Germany's eastern policy, the Holodomor as a genocide, the promotion of the rule of law in Ukraine, Ukrainian culture as part of the European traditions UVU signed an agreement with the Institute of Humanities in Vienna and for almost five years participated in the program "Ukraine in European dialogue", which is curated by prof. Timothy Snyder, Funder James Temerty.
UVU initiated and has been running a winter school for German and English-speaking students for the third year in cooperation with the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, the University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute. The program includes lectures on the history, politics, economy and literature of Ukraine. Students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland come to us. This year, students from Ukraine joined for the first time.
UVU fulfills the role of cultural ambassador of Ukraine in Germany. Thanks to our authors' evenings, Germans were able to meet Ukrainian writers Yuriy Andruhovych, Serhiy Zhadan, Iryna Karpa, Tetyana Malarchuk. Our books in German open up to Germans the world of the philosophy of Grigoriy Skovoroda, Pamfil Yurkevich, the world of Lesya Ukrainka's drama, the poetry of Taras Shevchenko and Dmytro Pavlychko. Thanks to our concerts, the German public has the opportunity to catch up with the musical works of Latoshinskyi, Kos-Anatolskyi, Barvinskyi, Lyudkevich, Skoryk and Kozarenko.
Today, the university remains the only university in Germany and perhaps the only institution in Europe that has a developed program of Ukrainian studies. Therefore, our role in Europe is becoming more important. We introduce new innovative courses, prepare interesting monographs. At our request, the Bavarian Ministry gave us permission to accept German students for studies on the condition that they know the Ukrainian language. We are considering the possibility of joint diploma theses with important centers of Ukrainian studies in the USA, Canada and Ukraine.
Our plan for the future is to create a center at the university for studying and testing the Ukrainian language as a second language, presentations and reports on the culture of Ukraine, exhibitions of Ukrainian art for the general public. The development of this project will depend on funding.
As an educational institution, UVU responds to the challenges of the times, to the needs of students in this global world. In recent years, we have introduced a doctoral program in international business law, master's programs in international law and international relations, and a full-fledged program in psychology and pedagogy. We have prepared two new master's programs - in art history and interdisciplinary Ukrainian studies, which are awaiting confirmation by the faculty councils.
Our goal is to educate the future generation of conscious Ukrainians, capable of creating a healthy public society, to promote the reforms needed not only by Ukraine, but also by Europe and America to build a more just, equal and economically capable society.
UVU allows students to get a European education at a Ukrainian university, where the languages of instruction are Ukrainian, English and German, to study with outstanding professors and practitioners from Europe, the USA, Canada and Ukraine, to live in a European country, to get to know its political system, language and culture, to gain intercultural skills, take advantage of the opportunity of internship in the institutions of the European Union (Brussels), Strasbourg courts, German companies, organizations and schools, learn German and English, get to know international students, create a network of important professional acquaintances.
UVU nurtures the values of freedom, justice and tolerance, inculcates critical thinking. Our teachers encourage dialogue and free thinking. Students independently choose their courses, supervisors, research topics. The spirit of freedom is felt here. No wonder students call UVU the territory of freedom.
Without a doubt, UVU is a unique institution in the world. Prof. Ivan Mirchuk, former rector of UVU, spoke words that are still relevant today: "Ukrainian Free University is a unique phenomenon, it is a great achievement. It is our sacred duty to pass on this unquenchable torch of Ukrainian science to future generations."
As rector of UVU, I thank all professors and teachers for working for the good of our university, for educating new generations of scientists and professionals, for realizing our vision and contributing to the creation of a better future. Thank you to all UVU supporters and donors for your understanding of our values and our role. I would like to express my special thanks to the Foundation of the Ukrainian Free University in New York for the long-term financial support of our university, without which our university would not be able to carry out its multifaceted activities.
Maria Pryshlyak, Rector of UVU