On the occasion of the 140th anniversary of geography at the University of Lviv, Prof. Dr. Kinder was a guest at the 3-day anniversary conference "Geographical Education and Science: Challenges and Progress" in Lviv (Lemberg). The event had a special character due to the war. Especially the absence of many members of the Faculty of Geography who are currently serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces or have already died in the war, painfully revealed the gap that the war tears in life and research. Next to it, even the repeated nightly air alerts seem beside the point.
The omnipresence of war in today's Ukraine was also reflected in the address of Decan Volodymyr Ivanovych. He stressed that today's graduates, students and staff of the Faculty of Geography are professionals with a strong civic position, show courage and patriotism, and stand up for the freedom of Ukraine. This has become especially clear since 2014. In his speech, the current view of Ukrainians on the past years, which have profoundly shaped and changed society, became clear. "The Heavenly Hundred [This is the name given to the victims of the Maidan Revolution who died during the months of protests on the Kyiv Maidan in 2013 and 2014] managed to overcome the criminal regime, and to this day this path is very thorny, with tears and pain. The struggle was just the beginning. The heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, including the student of the Faculty of Geography Ihor Kostenko and graduates of other faculties of the University, strongly defended themselves, but unfortunately died in the war for the future of Ukraine," recalled Volodymyr Ivanovych.
The decan also mentioned the names of those who gave their lives in the war against the Russian aggressor for the freedom of Ukraine, "the freedom of spirit and choice, the opportunity to build Ukraine." The audience commemorated them with a minute of silence.
Professor Kinder spent five days in Lviv. In his greeting, he pointed out the trusting cooperation in research and teaching between geographers in Tübingen and Lviv that has grown in recent years. "Be assured that we stand firmly by your side in the struggle for your freedom. You defend our common Europe, in which we want to live together in peace and freedom." Despite the war, the Chair of Economic Geography in Tübingen and the Faculty of Geography in Lviv are also currently working closely together. Currently, both are working as project partners on the research project "Displaced persons in Ukraine: Challenges for municipalities and civil society". In this context, Prof. Kinder pointed out that the cooperation will be further intensified at the latest after the end of the war. For example, a German-Ukrainian research project on the emergence of transnational social spaces in the context of Ukrainian refugees is in preparation. And student and academic exchange is also to be further expanded within the framework of an Erasmus project.