As a Belarusian university, we’d like to know, how do you see the future of Belarus and Belarusians, as a nation?
I incredibly hoped that Lukashenka would really leave in August 2020. Once the workers shouted “Go away, go away”, I thought it’s over. However, unfortunately, everything turned out differently. I also think that a kind of inclusive feminism has played a big role at that time, I think like a model of feminism for all of us.
What is the role of education and universities in the near future?
You ask the professor. I believe in education. My daughter is 10 years old and she followed the war that is going on. And I told her that by studying history and sociology, we understand a lot about how fascism works, how totalitarianism works, how racism works. But we don’t have a magical solution that it’s all gone. And my daughter, who experienced the pandemic as a child, said that we need a vaccine against manipulation. And I told her that education is the best vaccine we have. The important thing about education is that we need people who will ask questions, we need people who want to think. We must invest in the future, but of course I may be biased because I am a teacher. You have to choose what to believe in, because it matters.
In 2022, EHU will celebrate its 30th anniversary. What would you wish to the only university in exile in the post-Soviet space?
I would like to wish that your university will never have to be an outcast again.