U of A initiative receives humanitarian aid award for assisting Ukrainian scholars and students impacted by the war

The University of Alberta’s Disrupted Ukrainian Scholars and Students (DUSS) initiative was recently recognized with a special honour from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Alberta Provincial Council (UCC-APC).

At the organization’s annual Hetman Awards, which celebrate volunteers who make a positive impact in the Ukrainian Canadian community, DUSS received the newly-established Ukraine Crisis Humanitarian Aid Award.

“The new award was created to recognize the outstanding efforts of so many that opened their hearts to assist newcomers arriving in Alberta and those left behind,” writes UCC-APC president Orysia Boychuk in the program for the awards ceremony.

Launched in March 2022, just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, DUSS was established through a partnership between the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), Kule Institute for Advanced Study, Kule Folklore Centre, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, Department of History, Classics, and Religion, and the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies.

Together, these units quickly mobilized to support disrupted Ukrainian scholars and students.

“From the earliest days of the conflict, our academic community has demonstrated unwavering support for those affected by Russia's war against Ukraine," says Dean Marvin Washington of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. "Through the determination of faculty members and staff across our college, who quickly transformed the DUSS initiative from idea to reality, we have been able to assist scholars and students affected by the war in very meaningful ways. Their efforts are truly worthy of this recognition."

“I’m immensely proud of how departments and institutes from across the Faculty of Arts came together to create the DUSS initiative shortly after the war began. It has had an incredible impact on supporting Ukrainian scholars and students in a time of unprecedented crisis,” says Dean of Arts Robert Wood. “This award is well deserved, and I’d like to extend my congratulations to everyone who has helped sustain DUSS over the last two years.”

CIUS director Natalia Khanenko-Friesen vividly recalls the early days of the initiative, including the decision to use the word ‘disrupted’ rather than ‘displaced’ in its name.

“So many of our colleagues, in fact, were unable to leave their country in the early days of the massive Russian invasion,” she says. “They remained to volunteer, to look after elderly, or to serve in the Armed Forces or Territorial Defense Units. Many male colleagues of conscription age could not leave the country due to the Martial Law regulations. Male or female, disrupted and traumatised, many of our colleagues in Ukraine chose to continue their research, lecture their students and participate in academic discussions on Zoom, even if serving in the Army or while hiding from shelling in shelters.”

Since its inception, and with the support of an additional 10 units from across campus, DUSS has provided funding for over 50 scholars to continue their research – both in Ukraine and, for those who have been able to travel to Canada, on the U of A campus. It has also contributed to tuition fees and living costs for over 100 Ukrainian students suffering financial hardship due to the war.

“DUSS has been a key team who enabled so many meaningful professional connections between the experts at UAlberta and those in Ukraine, while supporting the latter,” says Khanenko-Friesen. “In addition, many war displaced students and researchers arrived over time to the University and once again the DUSS team was there to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all these individuals.”

DUSS credits its success to the joint efforts of its on-campus partners, the Albertan Ukrainian community and the generous support of many donors who have continued to enable the initiative’s work as the conflict continues.

“It is an absolute honour that the Ukrainian Canadian community recognized these efforts by awarding DUSS the Ukraine Crisis Humanitarian Aid Award,” says  Khanenko-Friesen. “This well-deserved recognition reminds us how important it is to work with and for our communities, especially in times of crises of such proportions as active brutal war.”

For more information on DUSS, and to make a donation, click here.

Please join us for the DUSS Virtual Reading Series, showcasing our Virtual Writers-in-Residence from Ukraine. The next session is going to be held virtually on Feb 6, 2024 at 10 AM MST (7 PM Ukrainian time).

This event is an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with Ukrainian writers and their works which represent new trends in Ukrainian Literature emerging due to the war, as well as a good chance to have the writers engaged in the UAlberta community. The second event in the Reading Series will feature writers Andriy Lyubka and Kateryna Yehorushkina. Moderator: Dr. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen.

Please register here to join our Virtual Reading Series event to meet our Ukrainian writers and learn about their works.