The main project purpose is upbringing of the European values for the Ukrainian teenagers. It is important to stress that among 60 participants 15 were from Eastern Ukraine. The professional team of 14 trainers worked with the young people. The program structured in a way that each day is devoted to a certain topic as communication, self-governance, culture, civil society, ecology and erudition this time.
The participants, divided into small groups, learned the main terminology and listened to the best European and Ukrainian experiences in solving different problems that Ukraine is currently facing. To keep the attention of young participants only the modern interactive formats are used as the teaching methods. The trainers worked out the program so that they showed the Europe not only “beyond” but also “inside” Ukraine. For example, within the culture day different architect styles were introduced and speaking about gothic style the buildings built in this style not only in Western Europe but also in Ukraine were shown. Trainers think that this helps to show young people that Europe in Ukraine is nearby every day, it is only important to notice it and further develop. The famous in the entire world Ukrainians, who became successful in different spheres, as Solomiya Krushelnytska, Serge Lifar, Mykola Lysenko, Oleksandr Dovzhenko were also introduces to the participants.
According to the sociology polls only 8% of young Ukrainians are interested in politics. Thus, addressing them with the political issues is often quite a challenge. Even though the professional team of trainers succeeds in this because they are speaking about the “political experiences” that young people have already. For instance, within the day of civil society the school councils and their influence on the organization of teaching process at schools were discussed. Besides, the trainers use only interactive study methods that help to keep the attention of young participants.
The organizers of the project believe in following reasons that make the project on the front burner: the importance of political education starting from the school age; the importance of upbringing of the European values in current circumstances for young Ukrainians in simply language and with the help of interactive formats; the importance of participation of teenagers from Eastern Ukraine in this project.
