L’initiative came from the Academy of Sciences. As early as February 28, this institution founded by Colbert in 1666 published a press release expressing its solidarity with Ukraine, calling on the Kremlin to immediately stop the fighting on its territory. Welcoming “the courageous position taken by many members of the Russian Academy of Sciences” who very early denounced this war, the French institution, which brings together 282 researchers from all over the world, did not however intend to remain at the statements.
“We immediately took more concrete decisions by mobilizing a large grant to the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences to enable it to survive in these difficult times and by launching an appeal to meet the needs of the families of scientists forced into exile. . The men having remained to fight, we welcomed a significant number of women and children. We are now going to ensure that the youngest can continue their education by multiplying educational actions,” says Étienne Ghys, permanent secretary of the academy.
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Support for the Ukrainian school in Paris
This requires exceptional support for the Ukrainian school in Paris, which has seen its numbers triple in less than a month. Today it welcomes more than 500 children. As the establishment, which adjoins Saint-Volodymyr Cathedral in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, is no longer large enough to accommodate this school population, the Academy of Sciences has decided to welcome, from next Saturday, several classes. “A step that is all the more logical since our premises occupy the buildings of the former College of Four Nations, founded by Mazarin in 1661”, points out Étienne Ghys.
On April 16, in the morning, the Institut de France will see around thirty children and teenagers, from the 6and at the 3and, make their return to school within its walls. The numbers will increase to around sixty young people in the afternoon. The chancellor of this house, Xavier Darcos, a former teacher himself before becoming Minister of National Education, said he was “happy to welcome these Ukrainian students fleeing barbarism to the institute. Once again, the Dome of the Quai Conti is a rallying point for those who trust in knowledge, fraternity and all the emancipatory values of culture”.
World-class teachers
The courses will be taught partly by some of the members of the Academy of Sciences, for another by Ukrainians. In addition to the mathematician Étienne Ghys who will show the children around the premises, the astrophysicist Pierre Léna will give them a lesson at the foot of the sundial which adorns one of the walls of the main courtyard. The two men are used to intervening in schools to promote their respective disciplines. Pierre Léna is thus the co-founder with Georges Charpak and Yves Quéré of the educational program “La main à la pâte”.
READ ALSOOutstanding return to the Institut de France
The two men hope that many institutions will join their initiative. Abroad, several of their counterparts have already taken comparable measures: from Portugal to Greece via Belgium and Italy. But these countries are not alone. The International Science Council (ISC), a non-governmental organization that brings together more than 200 scientific institutions, including many academies and research councils, lists nearly a hundred initiatives worldwide.