Mr. Andrius Kubilius, Chairman of the EHU Governing Board opened the event with a welcoming speech. In particular, he reminded the audience of the ambitious goals for EHU today and the grandiose plans for the future.
“I’m pretty sure that this future nowadays will become a reality because we got Krzysztof Rybinski as a rector, who knows how to make dreams become a reality. There would be a lot of challenges because our dreams have not only mental challenges, but also physical ones, and how to put all the dreams into this nice small building. It’s too small for our dreams, but I think we shall manage it to the final solution” – Mr. Kubilius said.
After his speech, Mr. Kubilius gave the floor to Dr. Tatsiana Chulitskaya, a member of the EHU Governing Board. She shared her hope for a prospective democratic transition in Belarus, which would soon allow the academic community to be back in a free Belarus.
“I think it’s very important for us as native Belarusians to be here today, to be here as members of civil society, as members of the academic community. Professor Rybinski, you are most welcome to join our community, and we have a big hope, that in the nearest future, we will be able to host you in democratic Belarus and be together there” – Dr. Chulitskaya noted.
Assoc. Prof. Liudmila Ulyashyna, Chairperson of the EHU Senate, also addressed the rector and the academic community with welcoming remarks. She noted that in a few months of the new rector’s work, there have already been positive changes. Among other things, students are invited to participate in the work of all commissions and committees of EHU, which makes the university a more open and transparent institution.
“We have a University with a very strong mission, and we are proud that our new rector makes this mission a compass for all of us, and this compass invites us to the entrance and will be implemented for all our procedures, all our documents. And on this note, I would like all of us, academic society, governing bodies, and administration to go head to head together for our missions. Long Live Belarus! And all our prisoners in Belarus hope for our efforts to bring intellectuals home when we need to build our democratic Belarus” – Assoc. Prof. Ulyashyna concluded.
After the opening remarks, the rector took the floor to thank everyone gathered and to express his gratitude for the warm welcome and kind words of support.
“I am deeply moved by this occasion, and it is truly an honor for me to be invited to work with every one of you. I believe that this university is truly unique, with a distinct mission, a remarkable team, and an important task to fulfill” – Prof. Rybinski said.
In addition, Mr. Rybinski thanked the Lithuanian government for sheltering the University, as well as donors for their generous financial support.
The rector also shared his vision of priorities, such as significantly increasing the number of students, expanding the donor base, and achieving international recognition so that the university becomes attractive not only in Eastern Europe but also in Western Europe.
The event was visited by ambassadors, friends, and supporters of EHU.
After the official part of the event, the student quartet “Piesniary” performed a cappella two songs – “Story of my Life” by Naviband (in Belarusian language) and “Another Love” by Enleo (in Ukrainian language).
