09.05.2006
Representatives of leading international donor organizations and diplomatic corps gathered on May 9, 2006 in Vilnius at the meeting of European Humanities University (EHU) International Board of Trustees and donors’ conference to discuss the strategy for the University’s further development.
EHU is approaching the end of its first academic year in exile in Lithuania. Over the course of this year, EHU enrolled the first cohort of Belarusian students and was officially registered as a Lithuanian university. These accomplishments have been made possible through kind Lithuanian hospitality and generous financial support from U.S. and European donors. This support is a sign of growing solidarity from the international community.
Presently the university is in the process of identifying additional funding opportunities that will secure continuation of the academic programs of EHU for the democratization of Belarus. The conference aimed at helping the university find ways to respond to the challenges that EHU faces in the long-term perspective.
Among the participants, there were Dr. Jonathan Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Dr. Per Unckel, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers; Dr. Dan Davidson, President of American Councils for International Education; Dr. William Newton-Smith, Director of the International Higher Education Support Program, Open Society Institute; Dr. Yevhen Bystrytsky, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation; Mr. Horton Beebe-Center, Vice President of the Eurasia Foundation; Mr. George Frowick, Director of the FREEDOM Support Act Division, U.S. Department of State; Mr. Teppo Heiskanen, Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania; Dr. Alfred Koetzle, Vice-president of European University Viadrina; and other representatives of donor organizations, diplomatic missions of the United States and EU countries, and EHU academic partners.
Two new members were accepted to the EHU International Board, Dr. Thomas Lunden, Director of Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Sodertorn University College (Sweden); and Dr. Inge Lonning, President of the Lagting (upper house of the Norwegian Parliament) and former rector of the University of Oslo.
During this day, financial donors of EHU had meetings with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania; members of the Lithuanian Council of Ministers and Parliament; and EHU students.
Also, this day the EHU International Support Committee was announced, comprised of 19 current and former university heads and other internationally prominent educators from Europe and North America. The Committee is intended as a vehicle for expressing the solidarity of the global higher education community with EHU and the cause of academic freedom in Belarus. Press-release; list of the Committee members.