By KYIV. Nov 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Sorbonne University and the Ukrainian Institute signed a memorandum of cooperation in Paris, which will allow resuming work on the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Ukrainian studies programs, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska said on her Telegram.
“Since 2012, there have been no Ukrainian studies at the Sorbonne. But today we have made a historic step towards restoration: the Sorbonne University signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute, an organization created specifically to promote Ukrainian culture in the world,” she wrote.
The memorandum will allow resuming work on the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Ukrainian studies programs, conducting lectures and presentations by leading figures of culture and civil society of Ukraine, as well as assisting students and young scientists who choose Ukrainian topics in writing works about it in French.
“We really hope that with the knowledge gained within these walls, young Ukrainian specialists will return home to rebuild and develop their war-torn country. They will forever remain linked between Ukraine and France. And the example of cooperation with the Sorbonne will be a powerful signal for the world’s leading universities,” Zelenska said.
The document was signed by President of the Sorbonne Natalie Drach-Temam, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute Volodymyr Sheiko and President of the Association of the Ukrainian Institute in France Iryna Dmytryshyn.
During her visit to the Sorbonne, the First Lady of Ukraine also thanked the President of the Sorbonne Natalie Drach-Temam for the fact that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the university has sheltered hundreds of Ukrainian students, provided its halls and chairs for speeches by Ukrainian intellectuals, writers and human rights activists.
