The world was shaken by the Russian invasion on Ukraine on the February 24. Since that, several international organizations and associations, including academic actors, have reacted upon the ongoing war. We gathered a few of the many reactions.
Research associations’ statements
After the Russian invasion on Ukraine, the national and international media and communication research associations came out with statements expressing their support for Ukrainians. Among the associations were the largest associations ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Association), IAMCR (International Association for Media and Communication Research) and ICA (International Communication Association), as well as the Swedish FSMK (Association of Swedish Media Researchers):
FSMK is appalled by the Russian unprovoked aggression towards its neighboring Ukraine, and strongly condemns the senseless act of violence now displayed. We stand firmly behind our Ukrainian colleagues, and the Ukrainian citizens, now forced to abandon their homes.
— FSMK (@mediekom) February 28, 2022📢 #ECREA Public statement on Russion invasion of #Ukraine: As a pan-European organisation, ECREA is appalled by the aggression of one European nation against another: https://t.co/InLt1TlfKA
— ecrea_eu (@ECREA_eu) February 27, 2022Read a message from #IAMCR president Nico Carpentier on the invasion of #Ukraine and our role as media and communication researchers. A "motivation for the IAMCR community to do what it does best." https://t.co/ZfcVLrMtm8
— IAMCR (@IAMCRtweets) February 27, 2022The International Communication Association condemns the Russian military invasion of Ukraine
Read the full statement from ICA here: https://t.co/6QmJb8YOJj pic.twitter.com/3pCrZrIQCD
— International Communication Association (@icahdq) February 28, 2022Individual experiences
Individual academics have started putting the Ukrainian flag to their pictures in social media, and some Ukrainian academics have also posted messages to the world. For example, the Scandinavist scholar Viktoriia Trostohon who is teaching Swedish at the Scandinavian Centrum in Kyiv posted a video:
The Institute of Network Cultures (INC) at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has dedicated a section of their website to the war in Ukraine where you can read letters from the inside by some of their collaborating partners. Especially its founder, the Dutch media theorist Geert Lovink has given voice to Ukrainians’ experiences in blog posts:
Dispatches from the Place of Imminence by Svitlana Matviyenko "Registering the nuances of the transformation seemed important. Like many, I thought the tension would dissolve, but this is a war diary now." https://t.co/jSvAiltW94
— Geert Lovink (@glovink) February 25, 2022
The question “what can we academics do” has been frequently addressed. Christopher Starke, a post-doc at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), listed some suggestions:
I'm just coming out of a brainstorming session with colleagues from all across the world to discuss "what academics can do" for 🇺🇦.
Here are some things we came up with (feel free to add):
— Christopher Starke (@ch_starke) February 25, 2022While debunking dis- and misinformation is seen as important, curating correct information is equally essential. Latvian scholars put together the initiative #ScienceForUkraine to collect information on the practical support provided by the global research community to Ukrainian researchers and students, including possibilities for research visits, accommodation and funding:
.@Sci_for_Ukraine will be collecting information and tweeting about the help universities and research institutions offer to students and researchers from #Ukraine.
Please use #ScienceForUkraine hashtag to help us to find your tweet!#standForUkraineNow #RussiaInvadesUkraine pic.twitter.com/SQDPjP0Xgi
— #ScienceForUkraine 🇺🇦 (@Sci_for_Ukraine) February 26, 2022However, many academics were reporting the difficulties regarding how difficult it feels to concentrate on your work when the social media feeds are filled with tragical news.
Today is a low-energy day.
— Academic Chatter™ (@AcademicChatter) February 28, 2022Photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash