COVIDA is a collective of students and young academics who aim to apply their academic knowledge to real world problems, using their scholarship as a tool of engaged political advocacy by providing fresh, transformative perspectives on global politics.
The group is in many ways a response to the current global environment. As the world began to grapple with COVID-19, our members were struck by the sense of change, possibility and dynamism the virus had brought to mainstream politics. We were also inspired by all the forms of civic solidarity and mutual aid that developed in response to the pandemic. We recognized that the current juncture is one of possibility, and thus that the time was right to center young voices and new ideas. With a nod to both the pandemic and radical act of “living together” (co vida) the COVIDA collective was formed to help our members make a real political intervention by offering creative, transformative, and politically engaged scholarship.
Founded in April 2020 under the auspices of the Cedar Trees Institute, COVDIA members Alina Sobolik, Javier Dichupa, Noah Hathaway, Connor Quilty, and Svetlin Dimitriev, have already produced four policy memos and a series of curated blog posts for EUCAnet, contributed to a literature review on human rights in BC, and begun working towards publishing a Special Issue of a peer reviewed journal.
This unique collaboration between junior academics and undergraduate students helps challenge traditional academic hierarchies, creating a space for young scholars to support one another’s growth and development as engaged public intellectuals.
For more information, please contact contactcovida@gmail.com or visit the Cedar Trees Institute to read about the founding members and their recent projects.
To understand the international impact this collective has already made, read up on our international story, written by Alina Sobolik: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+international-covida+news
Policy memos on COVID-19 response:
Solidarity in the era of Coronoavirus: Civil society and legitimacy by Javier Dichupa
Rebuilding the economy after COVID-19: An opportunitiy for Sustainability by Alina Sobolik
The politics of quarantine: Reinventing democracy by Ethan Connor Quilty
EUCAnet Blog Posts:
COVID-19 and the rise of populist movements by Flamur Gruda
How COVID-19 is eroding civil liberties and damaging society byJavier Dichupa
Can COVID-19 be taken as an opportunity to improve our policies by Ethan Quilty
What the European responses to COVID-19 say about integration by Alina Sobolik
