Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte designs the Virtual House of Ukraine

The Cité internationale does not have a House of Ukraine but, to offer these people the best reception conditions, it asked the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte to imagine a Virtual House of Ukraine. This project, highly symbolic but rooted in reality, has three objectives: to offer students, researchers and academics accommodation in the 43 houses on campus, to support them throughout their stay and to prepare for the future of young people. and the Ukrainian academic community. In order to finance this project, the Cité internationale is launching an appeal for donations campaign, an NFT sale of 3 drawings by Jean-Michel Wilmotte as well as an auction at Sotheby's of drawings and a work designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Michael Wilmotte.

A Virtual House of Ukraine to welcome the talents of tomorrow, support their success and prepare for their future

Welcoming the talents of tomorrow

The first reception site for international students and researchers in Paris for nearly 100 years, the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. There is no House of Ukraine on campus, but the Virtual House of Ukraine project makes it possible to effectively compensate for this absence. Thanks to this project, by the month of June 2022, students, researchers and academics affected by the war will be welcomed over the water in the rooms that will become available on campus then, from the start of the 2022 academic year, they will be in reserved accommodation within the 43 houses on campus.

Support their success

Students, researchers and academics affected by the war will be supported in their efforts. They will be able to benefit free of charge from all our support services: financial, social, psychological, medical and linguistic support. They will also be able to find support in the cultural and artistic offer offered on campus. They will share the daily life of nearly 7 residents of 000 nationalities. In connection with the universities and the grandes écoles in the Ile-de-France region, we will also support Ukrainian students housed in other residences in Ile-de-France to form a very real Ukrainian community but symbolically united under this banner of the house of Ukraine. The Cité internationale is thus placed at the center of reception in conjunction with the Campus France operator, the Crous and the higher education establishments in the Ile-de-France region.

Protect and prepare for their future

The Virtual House of Ukraine symbolizes the hope for renewal based on knowledge and the values ​​of tolerance. It will make it possible to preserve the future of students, researchers and academics in exile in a medium-term perspective: to preserve the youth and the Ukrainian university and academic community. The Ukrainian university must not be sacrificed and a whole generation of students from this bruised country must find their place among the young people of the world and this unique international campus steeped in history that is the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.

The talent of Jean-Michel Wilmotte at the service of a collective work

The architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte has agreed to participate in this innovative project and to support the Cité internationale, an architectural landmark steeped in history, with which he shares the ambition to support and prepare the future of the university community. and Ukrainian academics by betting on youth, knowledge and reason.

The Wilmotte & Associés agency imagined a pavilion, reminiscent of constructivist architecture, whose volumes and use of materials recall the Ukrainian flag. This digital work is also a way of highlighting art and culture as a response to the din and destruction of war. Three works were designed: the facade of the house, a bedroom and a collective space with a piano.

A fundraising campaign, an NFT sale and an auction

To make its project a reality, the Cité internationale is launching:

• On April 19, a campaign calling for donations and an NFT sale of the 3 drawings by Jean-Michel Wilmotte,
• On June 9, an auction at Sotheby's France, Europe and New York of 3 drawings and a work designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

The funds raised will make it possible to accommodate up to 500 students, researchers and academics affected by the war in Ukraine in the 43 houses on campus, to support them throughout their stay (administrative assistance, medical and psychological follow-up, learning French , cultural offer, etc.) and to set up an emergency aid fund. This scheme is also intended for Ukrainian residents present on campus at the outbreak of the war and their close families who will have joined them.

Make a donation or buy a work in NFT: maisondelukraine.fr