"We want to promote the EHU in the United States. The EHU Trust Fund has both European and American donors. Transatlantic co-operation is important for guaranteeing broad support, particularly in difficult economic times," says Halldór Ásgrímsson, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Nordic Council of Ministers and the American Council for International Education are staging the event, which will be attended by friends of the EHU and supporters of academic freedom. The main speaker will be Lloyd Axworthy, former prime minister of Canada.

Video about the European Humanities University (EHU)

Since it was founded in Minsk in 1992, the EHU has played a leading role in efforts to preserve intellectual freedom in Belarus. In 2004, it was closed by President Lukashenko and forced into exile in Vilnius, Lithuania. Today, the EHU is the only alternative to state-controlled higher education in Belarus.

The week after the celebration on Capitol Hill, Ásgrímsson will visit Canada, where he will meet the Canadian foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon. Support for EHU will be one topic on their agenda.

The EHU is dependent on support from the international community and donors. Today, the EHU receives support from the EU, a number of European governments, the American government, the Nordic Council of Ministers and private funding. The EHU Trust Fund is administered by the Nordic Council of Ministers, which ensures that it is transparent and secure.

Silje Bergum Kinsten
Phone +45 33 96 02 51
Email siki@norden.org