Threatened scholars in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia need bridges now. The Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)" and its partners are expanding their previous emergency measures. To do so, SCRIPTS is calling on public and private donors for funding from politics, culture and society for its "Berliner Wissenschaftsbrücke" (Berlin academic bridge). These donations will enable us to host at-risk fellows for a duration of up to one year.

The existing emergency fund by SCRIPTS supports already two scholars at risk from Ukraine, and a third scholar is in the admission phase. This is a short-term measure, including special fellowships of about three months. Together with its partners the Hertie School, the Institute for Eastern European Studies of the Freie Universität Berlin (OEI), the WZB Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and the Centre for Eastern European and International Studies (ZOiS), SCRIPTS wants to establish the Berliner Wissenschaftsbrücke which consists of longer fellowships for refugee and at-risk scholars from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and embeds them in a sustainable framework. This will enable the scholars at risk to continue their research in exile until they return to their home countries, or to integrate into German or European academic institutions in the longer term by submitting further research proposals.

Please contact Brinthanan Puvaneswaran irc@scripts-berlin.eu for information on how you can support the Berliner Wissenschaftsbrücke.

For more information about SCRIPTS activities on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, visit the information page.