Together against the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has also caused great alarm at Offenburg University:
"Russia's attack on Ukraine is an inconceivable assault on the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine and also of Europe. It contradicts the values of a free scientific community and the peaceful cooperation of teachers, researchers and students all over the world. The common responsibility for our future is incompatible with war. Our solidarity in these days is with the people in and from the affected areas. Together with you, we hope that the war will end quickly. For there is a future worth living only in freedom and self-determination."
Rector Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch.
Offenburg University also endorses the statements by the German University rectors' conference and by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).
University helps with the integration of refugees
To contribute to the integration of young refugees, Offenburg University is providing some help measures with the financial support of the German Academic Exchange Service.
In a first step, people arriving from Ukraine are offered free German language courses to facilitate their settling in Germany, and also to provide initial insights into the possibilities of studying at the University and integrate the young arrivals into campus life and social activities. The university staff hope to be able to counter the traumas they have suffered with positive impressions.
In a second step, it is planned to offer subject-specific preparatory courses starting in the 2022/23 winter semester.
Student counselling and help with integration at the university round off the offer.
In order to bundle requests for help as well as other offers of help and other ideas for support, the International Center of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences has set up the special email address ,integra@hs-offenburg.de' as a first contact point for everyone, refugees, university staff, but also external organizations and volunteers. Inquiries can be made in German, Russian, English or French. Please feel free to pass on the address!
The Psychotherapeutic Counseling Offenburg/Gengenbach of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg is available for help with mental stress.
Further informations
Disinformation is a big problem, especially in times like these with war raging in Ukraine. In this interview, Thomas Breyer-Mayländer, Professor at the Offenburg university Media Department and specialist in communication and marketing in the media world, responds to questions about how to stay properly informed.
How do I recognize serious and unserious sources in war reporting?
First of all, you should ask yourself what the source actually is. Beware that the distribution channel, for example a messenger service like WhatsApp, is not the source: in war reporting, it is either the warring parties with their specific interests, news agencies such as dpa or AP, etc., or reporters from large media networks. Here, everyone can think for themselves who reports what from which angle and what they tend to remain silent about. The direct posts from people on the ground are often impressive, but not easily verifiable.
What else should I be paying attention to?
How do these individual posts, which may seem to have been generated on the ground, match up with news agency reports? Is there a tendency toward strong narratives in the posts? Do they match the more abstract reporting of leading news agency-based international media outlets? In general, following Russia’s further tightening of media legislation, one must classify Russian media as part of the warring parties, which therefore cannot be used to verify facts. After all, according to the official reading, these media only know about a special operation and not about a war.
Another problem is falsified source information. If you see an interesting piece in a news stream on social media or one of the aggregators like the news section on Google, which looks like coming from a news agency or a well-known media brand, it is worth double-checking. Only when the original authority on the website confirms this information, you can attribute it to this source and rate its credibility accordingly.
Which information sources do you use or recommend specifically?
I personally read the FAZ, Süddeutsche, Zeit and Spiegel. Among the TV channels, I prefer ARD and ZDF. These are brands that not only use agency reports, but also operate their own reporting staff and research infrastructure.
What do you say to people who call the public broadcasts "fake news"?
The public broadcasters strive to provide balanced reporting as much as possible. Anyone who dismisses this as "lying press" or "fake news" must explain what sources they prefer on TV instead and why they would consider those superior.