Between December 9 and 13, 2024, in front of the Aula Magna, professors, researchers and students from the West University had the chance to meet the members of the Ukrainian community in Timișoara. The exhibition focused on stories about refugees’ experiences, shared with the SURE project team in interviews. An imporant part of the exibition were the artistic creations and exhibits about Ukrainian culture (poems, reports, paintings, presentations of Ukrainian personalities), put together in collaboration with the Faina UA association and the Ukrainian Union of Romania, Timiș Branch. The organizers of the exhibition within the C.A.R.E. campaign (“Connection and Awareness through Refugees’ Experiences”) thus aimed to combat, through the empathy awakened by art, the disinformation and false narratives circulating about Ukrainian refugees in the Romanian public space.
The opening of the exhibition took place on December 9, at 6:00 p.m. The speakers were Assoc. Prof. Valy Ceia, Vice-Rector of the West University of Timișoara, Prof. Dana Percec, dean of the Faculty of Letters, History, Philosophy and Theology, Ms. Maria Szabo-Condrei, President of UUR-Timiș, and Ms. Iryna Ihantieva, representative of Faina UA. Those present listened to the moving stories by TVR journalist Mihaela Bumbuc, who read from interviews with refugees, and poet Anna Zablotska, who read her own poems about the experience of being displaced by war. The attendees also admired traditional handicrafts and had the opportunity to meet the painter Ivershyn Hennadii, the Ukrainian students at UVT, as well as other members of the Ukrainian community in Timișoara.
The exhibition was organized by the SURE (Students for a United and Resilient Europe) project team: Arintina Bobiț, Loredana Brînzei, Daniel Buruian, Anamaria Cvașa, Daria Dragomir, Paula Drăgulescu, Alexia Faur, Andreea Faur, Andrada Nemeș, Amalia Secoșan, Teodora Tănase, Ramon Tănasie, coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Irina Diana Mădroane and Asst. Prof. Loredana Bercuci, members of the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies. This is part of a series of events that aim to combat misinformation related to Ukrainian refugees in Timișoara, as well as in Romania, and to promote social cohesion in local communities. The exhibition is, therefore, the first event in the C.A.R.E. (Connection and Awareness Through Refugees’ Experiences) campaign, with the slogan “Open Arms, Open Minds, Open Souls”.
Source: https://www.uvt.ro/en/blog/expozitia-c-a-r-e-la-uvt-arta-despre-experienta-refugiatilor-ucraineni-ca-mijloc-de-combatere-a-dezinformarii/
