Crisis in Ukraine: GEM mobilized to support and raise awareness

« The position of Grenoble Ecole de Management has been affirmed and is extremely clear since the first day of Russia's war against Ukraine. It is the exact expression of the position of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, which itself is the exact expression of the position of France, as expressed and affirmed by the President of the Republic », explains Loïck Roche, Director of Grenoble Ecole de Management.

GEM also joins the "Conférence des Grandes Ecoles" in expressing its solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people and, in particular for the entire higher education and research community.

The entire GEM community - students, staff, professors, alumni and partners - has taken action to provide a collective response at various levels:

Concerning students and staff:

• The welcoming of 15 new "refugee" students per year to enable them to follow (or continue) their studies in one of the programs at GEM by waiving their tuition fees in the framework of the Refugee Grant Program (with refugee status or subsidiary protection and financial need). The number of 15 students is in addition to the students currently supported by the program. This action represents an additional 175,000 euros in exemptions.
• The organisation and coordination of "Student Experience, Employability & Impact" workshops to help students in exile prepare for their integration into the professional world, with the student association ImpAct. This program, which has been in place since 2019, will make it possible to welcome new students from countries affected by the crisis.
• Individual support for our students and employees directly or indirectly affected by the crisis.
• Supporting and encouraging solidarity and awareness-raising actions by our students and staff. A collection of donations (goods) for Ukraine will be organised by the student associations SOS and ImpAct during the week of the 21st March 2022 on Grenoble and Paris campuses.
• The support of skills in connection with actions to help refugees. GEM employees can now use 1 to 3 days during the year 2022 to help people in exile if they wish to.

On an institutional level:

• The suspension by GEM of all its exchange or collaboration partnerships with Russian institutions and universities, following governmental directives.
• Collaboration and support at the local level of existing organizations, associations and mechanisms for the integration of people in exile, in particular, the Grenoble Alpes University refugee committee, the Colibris office, the RISING program and the MENS network. 
• The renewal of the unconditional support from the management of GEM to the Internal Refugee Advisory Committee - staff (administrative and teaching) who facilitates and advises on the deployment of our "refugee" commitment

On an academic level:

• Awareness-raising events to understand the crisis and its repercussions. These events will draw on the expertise of our researchers in geopolitics, CSR, interculturality, languages and culture, and more. Conferences have been and will be organized by the Center of Geopolitics, the Chair for Economic Peace and the student association GEM ONU.
• Reflections on the opening of visiting positions for Ukrainian professors and researchers

This major crisis obliges us even more:

• To renew and strengthen our commitment made in 2015 to welcome and support people in exile without discrimination of any kind (of culture, religion, country of origin, gender, etc.)
• To affirm through these actions our values and commitments as a "Société à mission": Access to education for all, Economic peace, Fight against global warming, Ethics and integrity of internal stakeholders, Gender equality
• To denounce all forms of war and terrorism, and to advocate for economic peace and the dissemination of a culture of peace, because these wars, because these crises, beyond all the human suffering they cause, will not only aggravate the global economic turbulence and therefore the inequalities, but also the dangers that weigh on our environment and the Planet.

Upcoming events @GEM

• March 24, 2022 ''Walking in the shoes of a Refugee'' simulation – A capsule of the Sustainability Think Passport from GEM. By taking part in this activity, students visualize the living conditions of refugees and their journey.
• April 11-15, 2022- SOS Méditerranée Photo Exhibition. "Enlighteners of Humanity, the faces and paths of the women in the Mediterranean ", conceived by the SOS Méditerranée collective '' this exhibition celebrates the power of action of women through several perspectives: that of women in exile, humanitarian women, volunteer women, rescued women and women who reach out to them''.
• April 14, 2022 - Screening of the documentary "The New Inhabitants", a film by Emmanuel Chevilliat and Victorien Tardif on the integration of migrants in a small town in the Ardèche. The screening will be followed by an exchange with the local branches of ADA and SOS Méditerranée. 
• May 16, 2022 - Event of the Chair for Economic Peace in partnership with the Houses of Peace for the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace. Screening of Pierre Pirard's film: "We all" on the issue of conflict, otherness and discrimination. Screening and debate are open to the general public and high schools.