Las amarguras de un intelectual republicano en Checoslovaquia

The historian, journalist and professor from La Coruña Francisco Fariña, of whom we now celebrate the 130th anniversary of his birth, came to Czechoslovakia in 1933. He collaborated with the Spanish and Ibero-American Institute and the Schools of Languages of Charles University in Prague and Masaryk University Masaryk in Brno. His students played a key role in Spanish and Ibero-American studies becoming a university degree. The political situation in Spain and professional jealousy clouded his stay in the Central European country and forced him to exile in Germany, where he died in 1955.

Public Libraries in Norway and the Covid-19 Pandemic

Public libraries have played a central role in natural disasters such as the tornado in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004/2005 and the tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011, but also in the financial crisis from 2008. While public libraries in these crises took on a very active role in providing shelter and infrastructure for their citizens, health crises seem to tell a different story. The Covid-19 pandemic that hit Europe and Norway in March 2020 caused a lock-down of public libraries’ buildings for several weeks, as was the case in almost every other European country. This paper investigates the situation for the public library in Tromsø (Norway) in the period from 12 March 2020 and towards a gradual reopening of the library building to the public in April the same year.

The changing pattern of European country groups: Economic, financial, and health indicators, 2000–2015

This study compares the European country groups using economic, financial and health indicators in 2000 and 2015. The “Core” European Union (EU) countries, which are the main progenitors of the deterioration processes within the EU, have changed their cluster memberships from higher-order clusters to lower-order ones. Deposits in banks (assets) to GDP (%) and inflation at consumer prices (annual %) have played a leading role in the formation of EU country groups for 2000 and 2015. The study emphasized the importance of political cohesion and financial stance to mitigate European countries’ financial risks and welfare states.

Science rejection in Greece: Spirituality predicts vaccine scepticism and low faith in science in a Greek sample

Recent research has identified spirituality as an important contributor to vaccine scepticism and low faith in science, particularly in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) nations. In the present study, we further tested the generalizability of these findings in a religious South-Eastern European country – Greece, with more extensive measures of key constructs. We replicate previous work using measures of improved construct validity. Spirituality was found to be the strongest predictor of vaccine scepticism and low faith in science. In addition, low science literacy was also predictive of vaccine rejection. Climate change scepticism was not associated with spirituality but with political conservatism, which corroborates previous findings. These results provide further evidence for two previously made observations: science scepticism is heterogeneous, and spirituality is an important factor in shaping science rejection.

COVID-19 vaccination uptake strongly predicts averted deaths of older people across Europe

Background: Nationwide COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccination campaigns have been effective to avert as many as 51% deaths in people aged ≥60 years in the European region between December 2020 and November 2021, though broad heterogeneity has been observed in the percentage of averted deaths across the different European countries. Methods: We downloaded data of vaccine uptake and efficacy into an Excel Worksheet, and we then performed univariate (Spearman’s correlation) and multivariate (multiple linear regression analysis) correlations.Results: A significant linear association was found between the percentage of averted deaths of older people and percentage of vaccine uptake in each corresponding European country (Spearman’s correlation: r=0.872; p<0.001), though such relationship was even better fitted by using an exponential curve (r=0.881; p<0.001). In multiple linear regression analysis, the percentage of deaths averted by COVID-19 vaccination remained independently associated with vaccine uptake (p<0.001), but not with the type of vaccine administered (p=0.264).Conclusions: The results of analysis support the foremost importance of reinforcing nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, especially in those countries where vaccination programmes have been less successful.

International cultural cooperation: on the example of the implementation of socio-cultural projects

The purpose of the article is to highlight international cultural cooperation on the example of international sociocultural projects and programs initiated by the EU. Methodology. It consists of the application of methods of analysis, observation, description, which allow to explore and outline certain aspects of international cultural cooperation on the example of sociocultural project implementation. Scientific Novelty. The article attempts to summarize the experience of implementing important international cultural projects in recent years. Conclusions. In recent years, Ukraine is an active participant in international sociocultural projects that promote intercultural communication, the establishment of our country in the international cultural community as a European country with rich cultural traditions, a reliable partner in solving modern cultural problems. In partnership with the EU, with the support of the British Council, the Goethe Institute, and other international institutions, events, and programs in the cultural and creative industries sector have taken place and continue to be implemented in Ukraine. The programs «Culture and Creativity», «House of Europe», projects «Creative Europe», «Cultural Bridges», implemented during 2014-2021, facilitated the establishment of dialogue in the domestic cultural sector and effective relations with cultural operators and institutions.

To the History of the Third Ukrainian Republic

The article describes the transformation of the political regime of the Third Ukrainian Republic. The author holds that this big European country deserves attention not only as part of its recent history and that of Europe, but also as a manifestation of some European and global political processes. Using the methods of historical analysis and periodization, an attempt is made to place the last 30 years of the Ukrainian Republic in the general context of the recent history of Ukraine, to identify the reasons for the incomplete «Ukrainian project», the difficulties of its external perception and international positioning. The scientific novelty of the proposed analysis is that the political regimes that have existed in the Ukrainian Republic since its proclamation are considered as interrelated in the process of its evolution, and the latest of them ‒ in the light of the hypothesis of two transformations ‒ as its last phase. The main conclusion is that Ukraine’s difficult path of political self-identification is not complete and it faces necessity to find a new internal and external political paradigm and another reboot of the political regime.

Heraldry in the Republic of Macedonia (1991–2019)

Every European country now has some distinctive heraldic conventions and traditions embodied in the designs and artistic representations of the emblems forming part of its national corpus. This paper deals with these matters in the period from independence in 1991 to the recent change of name in 2019. It deals with the successive designs proposed for the emblem of the state itself, some of which conformed to international heraldic conventions closely enough to be called “arms” or “coats of arms”, not including the emblem adopted in 2009. Special attention is given to the distinctive conventions created for municipal heraldry, including its novel legal framework, as well as those governing personal heraldry developed in the twenty-first century. The paper examines the evolution of heraldic thought and practice in Macedonia in the three decades in question, especially in the context of the Macedonian Heraldic Society and its journal, The Macedonian Herald, and its Register of Arms and the Civic Heraldic System it created.