Student Exchange / en U of T exchange students help organize exhibit in memory of Ukrainian students killed in war /news/u-t-exchange-students-help-organize-exhibit-memory-ukrainian-students-killed-war <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T exchange students help organize exhibit in memory of Ukrainian students killed in war</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-02-28-Unissued-Diplomas-%2810%29-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Ua3rWJmM 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-02-28-Unissued-Diplomas-%2810%29-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gEJhD5H7 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-02-28-Unissued-Diplomas-%2810%29-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=J1i7hsc5 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-02-28-Unissued-Diplomas-%2810%29-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Ua3rWJmM" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>siddiq22</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-07T14:26:45-05:00" title="Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - 14:26" class="datetime">Tue, 03/07/2023 - 14:26</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy exchange students Sofiia Kekukh and Daryna Zavhorodnia were among the organizers of the Unissued Diplomas exhibit, currently on display at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tabassum-siddiqui" hreflang="en">Tabassum Siddiqui</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hart-house" hreflang="en">Hart House</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-george-campus" hreflang="en">St. George campus</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-exchange" hreflang="en">Student Exchange</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ukraine" hreflang="en">Ukraine</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“When your classroom turns into a battlefield, your major becomes bravery.”</p> <p>That’s the powerful tagline for <a href="https://www.unissueddiplomas.org/">Unissued Diplomas</a>, an art exhibit organized by Ukrainian students across Canada – including several from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (KMA) who are currently studying at the Ƶ <a href="/news/u-t-welcome-students-and-faculty-ukraine-amid-ongoing-war">as part of an exchange program</a> with the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p>Organized in partnership with the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union, the exhibit is presented in two parts – <a href="https://harthouse.ca/events/unissued-diplomas-project/">Unissued Diplomas</a>, which features stark black-and-white plaques displaying the photos and stories of 36 Ukrainian students killed during the current war in Ukraine; and <a href="https://harthouse.ca/events/traces-of-war/">Traces of War</a>, a collection of illustrations and text by Ukrainian youth. Works from both parts of the exhibit are currently on display at Hart House on St. George campus until March 16.</p> <p>Two of the lead organizers, KMA exchange students <strong>Sofiia Kekuh</strong> and <strong>Daryna Zavhorodnia</strong>, have been working with fellow Ukrainian students across multiple time zones – holding virtual meetings and exchanging online messages around the clock – to coordinate the exhibit, which launched on Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</p> <p>“Nearly every one of us on the team, we have a friend or a friend of a friend, or an acquaintance, classmate or roommate who has died,”&nbsp;Zavhorodnia said. “So we felt that we needed to do something to spread awareness – these are actually people like us: students who were just living their lives.”</p> <p>Unissued Diplomas is being displayed at 45 universities around the world, including U of T. In Toronto, it is also being shown at <a href="https://stvolodymyr.org/calendar/2023/2/24/unissues-diplomas-presents-hall-of-diplomas-exhibit">St. Volodymyr Institute</a> on Spadina Ave. until March 11 and at the <a href="https://kumfgallery.com/7129-2/">KUMF Gallery</a> in Etobicoke until March 12. Other participating Canadian universities include Carleton University, St. Mary’s University and the University of Alberta.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/IMG_5851-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>Students view the exhibit at a launch event at St. Volodymyr Institute on Feb. 23 (photo by&nbsp;Sofiia Kekukh)</em></p> <p>Kekuh, a third-year student from Kyiv&nbsp;majoring in English and Ukrainian studies, and Zavhorodnia, who is from Rohatyn in western Ukraine and is in her third year of sociology with a focus on gender studies, are part of a group of students from KMA who were welcomed by the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science when their studies were disrupted by the war.</p> <p>“The Faculty of Arts &amp; Science has always been proud of the strong relationship we have with Ukraine’s academic community. Over the years, we have hosted many students from Ukrainian universities, and it's wonderful to see these partnerships continue to flourish,”&nbsp;said <strong>Melanie Woodin</strong>, dean of the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p>“This exhibit truly brings into focus the permanent, irreversible impact that war has on a nation and its people. Amid the turmoil they have faced throughout the past year, the students who put this exhibit together have honoured their peers in a manner that enables the U of T community to bear further witness to what has been lost.”</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Arts-%26-Science-dean-Melanie-Woodin-and-National-University-of-Kyiv-Mohyla-Academy-student-Daryna-Zavhorodnia_1-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em><span style="background:white"><span style="background:white">Unissued Diplomas&nbsp;project manager&nbsp;Daryna Zavhorodnia, right, with Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, at&nbsp;a&nbsp;reception last week for students from Ukraine on exchange at U of T (photo by&nbsp;Delicia Ansalem)</span></span></em></p> <p>Adapting to “a&nbsp;completely new environment”&nbsp;at first proved challenging, Zavhorodnia said, “but in terms of community, there are a lot of Ukrainians here in Toronto and Canada in general – we could feel the power of that in the way they keep the traditions and language alive. And there was a sense of community here at the university as well.”</p> <p>Drawing on that close-knit network, the pair began discussing with other Ukrainian students what they could do to bring more attention to the conflict – especially at their new campuses, where many of their peers didn’t seem to be fully aware of the human cost of the war.</p> <p>“It’s so far away, and they don’t know what it’s like to live there and experience it – to get up every day and still have to try to go to work and school in the middle of this war,”&nbsp;Kekuh said. “The main goal is to remind viewers that the war is not over. It’s an exhibit that never should have existed – but now it’s something to keep the memory alive of the students who were killed.”</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/IMG_6674-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>Liudmyla Kryvoruchka, director of the Yuchemenko Family Doctoral School at National University of&nbsp;Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, speaks on Feb. 23 during a panel discussion about Ukraine at St. Volodymyr Institute (photo by Sofiia Kekukh)</em></p> <p>Since January, Kekuh and Zavhorodnia and their fellow organizers have been reaching out to family and friends of students who died in combat or in attacks on their cities to compile their stories for the Unissued Diplomas plaques, as well as curating the artwork, poems and messages from young Ukrainians that make up the Traces of War exhibit.</p> <p>Those efforts come between their everyday studies and worriedly trying to reach their parents and loved ones amid the conflict and sustained power outages back home – Kekuh notes that Ukrainians now joke about how much they can get done in the brief blocks of time between blackouts.</p> <p>“You never know if it’s a missile, or whether they just don’t have electricity or what’s happening,”&nbsp;Zavhorodnia said. “Physically, I’m here [in Toronto] and it’s safe. But mentally and emotionally, I’m still there – so the struggle is being in two environments at the same time.”</p> <p>Working on the Unissued Diplomas project allowed the KMA students to channel their fear and concern into something productive – in addition to the exhibit, they also partnered with U of T’s <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ceres">Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies</a> (CERES) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy for a <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ceres/news/365-days-war-resilience-solidarity-creativity-memory-part-one">panel discussion</a> <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ceres/news/365-days-war-resilience-solidarity-creativity-memory-part-two">on Feb. 23</a> to mark the one-year anniversary of the invasion, which examined the resilience of Ukrainians during the war. The group also hosted a film screening of the documentary <em>War Note</em> at Innis Town Hall on Feb. 26 with director Roman Liubyi in attendance, and are collecting donations to buy medical supplies and camera drones for students fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2023-02-28-Unissued-Diplomas-%281%29-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>The Unissued Diplomas exhibit at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></p> <p>At Hart House, in the main floor hallway where the exhibit is&nbsp;currently displayed, the portraits of the Ukrainian students who never got a chance to graduate stop passerby in their tracks.</p> <p>“Viewing this series of photos of Ukrainian students killed in the war – some as soldiers, most as civilians – it is a painful experience to see these young faces and to know their fate,”&nbsp;said <strong>Lynne Viola</strong>, <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a>&nbsp;emerita in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science – with a cross-appointment to the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy&nbsp;–&nbsp;who is&nbsp;a <a href="/news/historian-s-hat-trick-u-t-s-lynne-viola-receives-sshrc-gold-medal-her-work-stalinist-russia">specialist in 20th-century Russian history</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;has <a href="/news/human-tragedy-greatest-scale-lynne-viola-how-distorted-history-shapes-today-s-war-ukraine">worked with many Ukrainian students and scholars</a> over the years.</p> <p>Kekuh and Zavhorodnia, who plan to return to Ukraine to help rebuild their country when their exchange term wraps up in April, hope the exhibit inspires U of T students to reflect on a conflict that may seem distant but has a global impact.</p> <p>“We hope the biggest takeaway will be that the war is not just numbers – that those are names, those are personal stories and those are real people,” Zavhorodnia said. “And there is a high price to pay for freedom – that’s the price we are paying, and that’s why the world has to remember that it’s not only about Ukraine, but about larger, greater ideas about freedom and democracy.”</p> <hr> <p><strong>U of T is reminding students, faculty and staff affected by the war in Ukraine that services are available at each of the three campuses for those who need support. </strong></p> <p>The following services are available to students:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/department/health-wellness/">Health and Wellness Centre</a> (St. George)</li> <li><a href="https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/hwc/">Health and Wellness Centre</a> (U of T Scarborough)</li> <li><a href="https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/health/">Health and Counselling Centre</a> (U of T Mississauga)</li> <li><a href="https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/service/myssp/">My SSP</a> (support available 24-7/365)</li> <li><a href="https://internationalexperience.utoronto.ca/international-student-services/">Centre for International Experience</a></li> </ul> <p>For staff and faculty:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://benefits.hrandequity.utoronto.ca/efap/">Employee and Family Assistance Program</a> (support available 24-7/365)</li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 07 Mar 2023 19:26:45 +0000 siddiq22 180562 at 7 reasons to pack your bags and study abroad: U of T student photos /news/7-reasons-pack-your-bags-and-study-abroad-u-t-student-photos <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">7 reasons to pack your bags and study abroad: U of T student photos</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/photocontest.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HtMM__UU 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/photocontest.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=YnWeBIP0 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/photocontest.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=SCqqDB1W 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/photocontest.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HtMM__UU" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-02-15T13:10:54-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - 13:10" class="datetime">Wed, 02/15/2017 - 13:10</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">U of T law and business student David Pardy submitted this photo to the Centre for International Experience for a previous contest. It was taken in Dubrovnik, Croatia, near the Adriatic Sea</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Geoffrey Vendeville</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/summer-abroad" hreflang="en">Summer Abroad</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-exchange" hreflang="en">Student Exchange</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/centre-international-experience" hreflang="en">Centre for International Experience</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Deadline for annual photo contest from study abroad and student exchange trips is Feb. 19</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>You could be pulling yet another all-nighter in the Robarts group study room next year, or you could&nbsp;start planning to take your studies on the road.&nbsp;</p> <p>The photos below should make you want to pack your bags.</p> <p>They&nbsp;were submitted to U of T's Centre for International Experience (CIE) as part of the&nbsp;annual photography contest. This year, <a href="http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/cie/photography-contest#node-4132">CIE's 8th annual photo contest</a> is taking submissions&nbsp;until Feb. 19.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="/news/more-stamps-passport-why-u-t-students-should-study-research-abroad">Read more about CIE's new senior director</a></h3> <p>CIE hopes to showcase the photos by U of T students from past and current studies&nbsp;abroad or international exchanges at&nbsp;an exhibit March 8. Attendees will vote on favourite pictures. CIE will also be taking votes online during a&nbsp;Facebook voting period. There's prizes for first place winners in each category: people and places, landscapes, cultural learning and Toronto.&nbsp;</p> <p>Take a look at some of the entries from previous years:</p> <h4>Ven, Sweden, by <strong>Helen Meng</strong>&nbsp;in mechanical engineering</h4> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3412 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="555" src="/sites/default/files/VEN%2C%20Meng%2C%20Helen.%20Sweden.%20Mechanical%20Engineering.%20Lund%20University.%20People%20and%20Places_%20%28resized%29.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></p> <h4>Tasmania,&nbsp;Australia, by&nbsp;<strong>Laila Strazds</strong>&nbsp;in psychology<br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3414 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/AT%20THE%20END%20OF%20THE%20EARTH%2C%20Strazds%2C%20Laila.%20Tasmania%2C%20Australia.%20Psychology.%20University%20of%20Sydney.%20People%20and%20Places%20%28resized%29.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></h4> <h4>Paris, France, by <strong>Yeji Lee</strong>&nbsp;in English literature&nbsp;<br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3415 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="449" src="/sites/default/files/EIFFEL%20TOWER%2C%20Lee%2C%20Yeji.%20Paris%2C%20France.%20English%20Literature.%20Sciences%20Po.%20People%20and%20Places%20%28resized%29.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></h4> <h4>Northern Ireland by <strong>David Pardy</strong>&nbsp;in law and business<br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3458 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/DARK%20HEDGES%2C%20Pardy%2C%20David.%20Northern%20Ireland.%20Law%20and%20business%20%28JD-MBA%29.%20University%20of%20Amsterdam.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></h4> <h4>Singapore by <strong>Echo Xiao</strong>&nbsp;in Rotman commerce</h4> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3459 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/Seeing%20Rainbow%20in%20my%20dream%2C%20Xiao%2C%20Echo%2C%20Singapore%2C%20Rotman%20Commerce%2C%20Nanyang%20Technological%20University%20.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></p> <h4>Copenhagen, Denmark, by <strong>Ekaterina Mizrokhi</strong>&nbsp;in urban studies<br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3460 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/NYBROGADE%2C%20Mizrokhi%2C%20Ekaterina.%20Copenhagen.%20Urban%20Studies.%20University%20of%20Copenhagen_.jpg" style="cursor: default; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"></h4> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:10:54 +0000 ullahnor 104964 at