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Press review – December 17, 2020

Press review – December 17, 2020

Softly
The US Ambassador to Romania, His Excellency Mr. Adrian Zuckerman, was the guest of Timisoara and UVT
UVT Youtube.com
The US Ambassador to Romania, His Excellency, Mr. Adrian Zuckerman, was the guest of Timișoara, present at the commemorative events dedicated to the Revolution of 1989. The American diplomat's agenda included the invitation to participate in a meeting with the rectors of Timișoara's public universities, together with the representatives of the City Hall Timișoara Municipality and Timiș County Council.
The agenda of the debates held today at the Western University of Timișoara was focused on the project on the basis of which ATU came into existence in 2020, developed through the ambition of our university center to strengthen itself as the main driver of the development of the west of the country, through innovation, culture, humanistic values , scientific and multiculturalism.
The Timișoara University Alliance (ATU), the first cooperation and consolidation structure of the university center and the scientific research, development and innovation platform in Timișoara, aims to contribute in a relevant way, through a joint strategy of the four public universities in our city , when Timișoara became a point of reference for Central and Eastern Europe.
Dbranea
TODAY: "At UVT, culture is capital!" - "Homeland for others. Diplomacy, identity, international promotion"
Facebook.com/uvtromania
As I'm used to you, under the auspices of our principle of value - "At UVT, culture is capital!", we're back with a new evening of dialogue on the topic "Homeland for others. Diplomacy, identity, international promotion". It will be moderated by the vice-rector in charge of internationalization and diaspora strategy, Cristina Chevereșan, with the renowned essayist, translator, cultural entrepreneur and diplomat, Dorian Branea, as guest.
A graduate of the Faculty of Letters, Philosophy and History of the West University of Timișoara and a PhD student in English-American Studies at the same university, Dorian Branea followed a series of postgraduate specializations in international relations (Georgetown University) and management (Oxford University).
He was the editor of the magazine "Orizont" (since 1995) and a member of the Comparative Studies Group "Third Europe" (since 1998), fellow of the Central European University in Budapest (2003-2004), associate professor in the Master's American Studies of the Western University in Timișoara, between 2003-2005 and founding director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw (2006-2010) and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London (2010-2018). Also, since December 2020, he is the President of EUNIC New York.
Therefore, we invite you to participate today, 17.12.2020, from 18:00, in this event transmitted LIVE, on the UVT Facebook page.
The market of victory and the work of the revolution 1
31 years since the Revolution of December 1989: Dignity, Democracy, Determination. The program of events
tion.ro

Under the motto "Dignity, Democracy, Determination", the first city free from communism in Romania marks 31 years since the Revolution of December 1989.

The schedule announced by the mayor's office is quite busy, even during the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the events are organized by the associations of revolutionaries in the city. There will be book launches, exhibitions, services, but also the inevitable festive plenary session.

The program sent by PMT:

Thursday, December 17 – day of mourning:

  • 10 – Metropolitan Cathedral/ Commemoration service of heroes martyrs/ Laying of wreaths
  • 10.30 – Crucifixion Monument, Victoriei Square/ Laying of wreaths
  • 14 – Heroes' Cemetery/ Memorial service for martyred heroes/ Laying of wreaths and parastas

Friday, December 18:

  • 18 – Metropolitan Cathedral/laying of candles
Monday the 21st
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, at UVT: IMAGINE.SOUND.'89 Photography and multimedia: places of memory of the Revolution
Facebook.com
The conference IMAGINE.SUNET.'89 Photography and multimedia: places of memory of the Revolution does not aim to politicize recent history, nor is it a "revealer" of truths, like the solution used in the photographic film development technique.
The event presents personal histories remembered in the center of Europe (Petrea Lindenbauer), heard histories transformed into images (Bede Kincsö) or transmitted from the middle of events (Andrei Pandele). You will learn how the past can be revisited through theater/documentary film (Carmen-Lidia Vidu) and interdisciplinary filter (Florin Oprescu). All these are formulas to bring the '89 moment closer to us and to our understanding.
The conference takes place in the virtual space with the support of the Western University of Timișoara, the Faculty of Arts and Design and with the participation of the Institute of Romanian Studies at the University of Vienna.

We are waiting for you on Monday, December 21, 2020, at 18:00 LIVE on

facebook.com/uvtromania
Graduation University Students 1024x682 (3)
UVT in the ranking of universities in Emerging Europe and Central Asia QS Ranking
edupedu.ro

19 Romanian universities, led by Babeș-Bolyai from Cluj-Napoca, can be found in the newest edition of ranking of universities in Emerging Europe and Central Asia, published by QS. UBB is the only Romanian university in the top 50, the ranking also has five local universities in the top 100 and six in the 101-200 range, the entire ranking including 400 higher education institutions in the region.

QS states that this is the most extensive ranking it has made for this region and that almost half of the universities included come from two countries: Russia and Turkey. Romania is among the countries with a considerable presence, in terms of number of institutions, along with Kazakhstan, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The ranking was based, in this edition, on 10 indicators, including academic reputation, reputation among employers, research productivity.

Romanian universities included in the QS Ranking of universities in Emerging Europe and Central Asia (place in the ranking – the university):

40 – Babeș-Bolyai University

56 – University of Bucharest

73 – Polytechnic University of Bucharest

81 – AI Cuza University

93 – Gheorghe Asachi Technical University

95 – Western University of Timișoara

120 – Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

130 – Polytechnic University of Timișoara

158 – Lower Danube University

164 – Ștefan cel Mare University from Suceava

167 – Academy of Economic Studies from Bucharest

190 – Transylvania University

201-210 – Lucian Blaga University from Sibiu

211-220 – University of Craiova

221-230 – University of Oradea

251-300 – USAMV Bucharest

301-350 – Vasile Goldiș University in Arad

351-400 – Ovidius University of Constanta

351-400 – Constantin Brâncusi University

Sandra and Alina
Two female researchers from Babeș Bolyai University in Cluj, winners of the L'oréal UNESCO Awards for women in science
edupedu.ro

Two researchers from the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (UBB), Sanda Boca and Alina Sesarman, are among the winners of the four scholarships worth 47.000 lei each awarded during the 11th edition of the L'oréal Awards UNESCO for women in science, according to a UBB press release.

No less than 74 people from 29 institutes and universities in the country have applied for this scholarship.

The winning project, carried out in the Physical Sciences section, by Sanda Boca, from the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research in Bio-Nano-Sciences of UBB, aims to develop a sensor-based device for the detection and identification of circulating tumor markers. Such an application would have a major impact for the rapid diagnosis of diseases such as cancer, enabling early diagnosis, essential for successful treatment.

Designated winner of the Life Sciences section, Alina Sesarman, from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of UBB, carried out a project to develop in vitro a 3D model of melanoma (skin cancer) using cells that are responsible for the resistance developed to various treatments. This model will be used to test the effectiveness of antitumor drugs, avoiding the use of animals for scientific purposes.

"Glad to see that two of the four winners this year are from UBB. UBB, through internal and international commitments, has an explicit policy of implementing gender balance, both in administrative leadership positions and in the academic area (with emphasis in the STEM area, where the imbalance is often stronger)". states the rector of UBB, university professor Dr. Daniel David.

Opening
Save the Children campaign to get authorities to reopen schools in January 2021
edumanager.ro

Save the Children Romania launches a manifesto campaign, the central element of which is a photo exhibition at The National Museum of Art about vulnerable children who have dropped out of school, to get the authorities to reopen schools in January 2021.

According to a press release from this organization sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday, 30 children are included in the manifesto campaign "Help us not let them become #LostChildren". The photography exhibition at the National Art Museum can be visited from Wednesday until January 10, 2021.

"The campaign is especially addressed to the authorities, to get them to reopen schools in January 2021, safely for children and teaching and non-teaching staff, thus ensuring access to education for the most vulnerable children living in conditions of poverty and isolation social and is on the verge of dropping out of school and to really treat education as a national priority", the cited source shows.

According to the organization, lack of education keeps children "captive" in poverty and the intergenerational cycle of social exclusion.

"This is the undesirable truth that the 278.000 young people between 18 and 25 years old without completed elementary education live today. To this general situation of social exclusion through poverty was added the faulty and non-empathetic management of the educational system towards vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic, which inevitably led to the phenomenon of educational exclusion, by denying access to online education for 1.000.000 children who represent almost two-thirds of school-aged children who will soon constitute the generation of future adults in an uncertain future of this world", mentions Save the Children.

According to her, the non-participation of such a large number of children (40% of the entire school population) constitutes "an unprecedented crisis in education, a direct and exclusive effect of political decisions".

Umberto Eco 0
CULTURE AND SOCIETY - How Umberto Eco defines fascism
rfi.ro

In 1995, Umberto Eco published an essay entitled "Ur-fascism" in The New York Review of Books. He stated that fascism is difficult to define because it is constantly changing its form. But the author was able to point out 14 basic features of all fascist movements.

“These traits,” wrote the novelist and semiotician, “cannot be organized into a system; many of them contradict each other and are also typical of other types of despotism or fanaticism. But it is enough that one of them is present to allow fascism to coagulate around it".

So what would these signs be?

1. The cult of tradition. “One only has to look at the syllabus of each fascist movement to find the leading traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi Gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements. "

2. Rejection of modernism. "The Enlightenment, the age of reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity."

3. The cult of action for action's sake. "Action, being beautiful in itself, must be done before or without any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation".

4. Disagreement is treason. "The critical spirit makes distinctions, and distinction is a mark of modernism. In modern culture, the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge."

5. Fear of difference. "The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is one against intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition".

6. Appeal to social frustration. "One of the most typical features of historical fascism has been the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation."

7. Obsession with a plot. "Thus, at the root of ur-fascist psychology is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged."

8. The enemy is both strong and weak – this, through the constant shift in rhetorical focus.

9. Pacifism is a form of trading with the enemy.

10. Contempt for the weak. "Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology."

11. Everyone is trained to be a hero. "In ur-fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly related to the cult of death."

12. Machism and the cult of weapons. "Machismo involves both contempt for women and intolerance and condemnation of non-standard sexual practices, from chastity to homosexuality."

13. Voice of the People, presented selectively. "There is a populism where the emotional response of a select group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People."

14. Ur-Fascism speaks the New Language. "All Nazi or Fascist textbooks used an impoverished vocabulary and rudimentary syntax to limit the tools of complex and critical reasoning."

If some of these ideas and behaviors, painted by Umberto Eco a quarter of a century ago, seem more present today than ever in the public space, you may be right to be concerned.

 

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