The University of Coimbra joins efforts to support Ukraine war victims
The UC has joined two collaborative initiatives to raise funds to support displaced people and war refugees.
Translation by Diana Taborda
The University of Coimbra (UC) is committed to supporting the victims of the war in Ukraine. Therefore, the UC has joined two joint initiatives to collect financial donations for the support of displaced persons and war refugees, appealing for contributions. It has also reaffirmed its openness to hosting Ukrainian students and researchers, within the legal framework to be defined by the Portuguese government.
The UC also joined two fundraising campaigns to help shelter refugees in Romania and Moldova, two countries neighbouring Ukraine. One of the initiatives is promoted by the EC2U alliance (European Campus of City-Universities), a consortium made up of the University of Coimbra and six other European counterparts, and is centred on the University of Iasi, a city in north-eastern Romania (about 160 km from the Ukrainian border). Donations can be sent to the joint account with IBAN RO76BRDE240SV78361832400 (Beneficiary: Fundația Alumni - Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iasi; Tax Identification Number: 21591880; Bank: BRD - Groupe Société Générale; SWIFT: BRDEROBU; BIC: BRDE).
The other campaign is organised by the UC together with the Moldovan embassy in Portugal. Moldova shares a 900km border with south-western Ukraine and, like its Romanian neighbour, has been hosting large waves of refugees from Ukraine. Donations in euros can be made to IBAN MD14NBPBBP144121A01344QI (Beneficiary: Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova - State Treasury; Tax Identification Number: 1006601000037; Bank: National Bank of Moldova; SWIFT: NBMDMD2X). For further information - or to obtain bank transfer references in Lei or Dollars -, interested parties should contact the International Relations Unit of the UC: dri@uc.pt.
In addition to these two initiatives, the University of Coimbra is available to the Government of Portugal to welcome with dignity students and researchers who are war refugees from Ukraine, as stated by the Rector, Amílcar Falcão, in his speech at the commemoration ceremony of the Day of the University, on the 1st of March. In this context, the Refugee Support Fund may be activated, a Fund that the UC activates whenever necessary, in similar situations. "I appeal to the generosity of the entire academic community and Alumni in order to support the Ukrainian people and, in particular, the innocent victims, who are always those who suffer most in these circumstances. We will be here for whatever is needed," stated the Rector.
"In the dark moment we are living, in line with its humanist tradition, the UC not only welcomes Ukrainian students and researchers, in close coordination with the national authorities, but also engages the academic community and alumni in supporting credible and relevant official international initiatives. We will always stand up for the values of freedom and respect for human rights," adds UC Vice-Rector for External Relations and Alumni, João Nuno Calvão da Silva.