In May 2022, Iryna Khamayko started an educational center for Ukrainian teenagers seeking refuge in Austria after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The idea was clear: to ensure a safe educational environment, equip the students with the German language, and make sure they could continue their education.
Today, the Free People Educational Hub in Vienna is still open. Two of the school’s students, Lena and Maria, interview Irena Khamayko in this first episode of the Knowledgeable Youth podcast series. They discuss language barriers, the Austrian school system and the challenges of making friends in a new country.
This series is developed by students from the Free People Educational Hub– a school for young people from Ukraine based in Vienna, who have been displaced by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Together, they explore current themes in the social sciences, together with researchers.
This project was co-ordinated by Carine Chen (Eurozine) and Irena Remestwenski (RECET).
Knowledgeable Youth: Science Communication in Times of War is co-organised by Eurozine, RECET, Radio Orange and the Free People Educational Hub in Vienna. The project is funded by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna. Read more about the project here: www.eurozine.com/focal-points/youth-project/.
Copyright by Roman Doroshenko