Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blinken OSA has been determined to help and find new ways to host scholars threatened by the war. Also, as archives, we preserve sources documenting the development of the events.
The first of many initiatives was to support Ukrainian students now residing in Budapest. Blinken OSA offers selected archival internships to refugee students affected by the current crisis, with an interest in recent history. For more information about the availability of the call, contact Fanni Andristyák.
Due to its multilingual holdings, the Archives has employed staff from all over the world, including Ukraine. Immediately after the beginning of the unprovoked war, we reached out to former colleagues, interns, and researchers from Ukraine if they needed support. As a result, one of our former assistant archivists has rejoined the Archives. Working remotely while remaining in Ukraine, she/he reinforces the archival effort Blinken OSA colleagues had undertaken regarding the war developments and contributes to a previously processed digital collection of telex communication between RFE/RL’s Munich and New York offices at the height of the Cold War.
Furthermore, the Archives has joined the latest program launched by CEU, called Invisible University for Ukraine. It is a certificate program (offering ECTS credits) for junior and senior undergraduate and graduate students from Ukraine, whose studies were interrupted by the war of aggression. The non-degree academic program—designed in a hybrid format—is taught by international partners, Ukrainian and Polish institutions, as well as prominent scholars linked to the Central European University, including the university faculty, researchers of CEU Democracy Institute and Blinken OSA. István Rév (Director, Blinken OSA) and Oksana Sarkisova (Research Fellow, Blinken OSA) contribute to the program as lecturers, while Anastasia Felcher (Archivist, Slavic Collection, Blinken OSA) participates as a mentor. This non-degree academic program is also meant as a pilot project for a more inclusive transnational concept focusing on students and scholars at risk.
For further details visit the program website.