The idea to make the School for Teachers offline came up when it became clear how many problems Ukrainian educators have been facing. We decided to gather teachers, lecturers and school principals from July 22 to 25 in Transcarpathia, a relatively safe region of Ukraine.
For many years, we have been cooperating with educators within the framework of the projects “Global education – we know human rights” and “School – the territory of human rights”. These projects are implemented by “Vostok SOS” in partnership with the Estonian organization MTÜ Mondo and the Educational House of Human Rights – Chernihiv. Directors of educational institutions of Luhansk region, Lviv region, Volyn region and Kirovohrad region became the participants of the “Summer School for Educators 2022”.
For four days we taught each other, shared experiences, cried and laughed. Everyone was energized and got insights and ideas for the future.
Thanks to the work of talented trainers, we learned the basics of international humanitarian law, and also worked with the topics “Human rights in conditions of war”, “Possibilities and resources of an educational institution in conditions of armed conflict”. We devoted the practical part to games – the game “Defining the goal” helped to understand how to work in a team, which is important for the school community.
The coaches were:
Oleksandra Kozorog – head of the educational department of the UGSPL;
Andriy Kinash – chairman of the board of the public organization MART;
Serhiy Burov – director of the Educational House of Human Rights – Chernihiv.
Other specialists and experts joined us:
together with Serhiy Gorbachev – the educational ombudsman of Ukraine, the participants analyzed in detail the topic “Functioning of educational institutions in the conditions of martial law” and “Beginning of the academic year: challenges, opportunities, recommendations. How to preserve the school community in the conditions of war”.
Natalia Kaplun was present at the School – the coordinator of the documentation department of the Vostok SOS Charitable Foundation. She shed light on the topic of documenting war crimes and why it is important: how urgent it is to document the crimes of the aggressor, how to collect evidence, and then bring all the guilty to justice. This session aroused great interest in the group, because educators from the affected regions are witnesses of many events of the war.
Psychologist Olena Andreyeva, who conducted practical and theoretical classes and was open for individual consultations, was always nearby. In practice, they learned to relieve stress, had a thorough discussion on the topic “Preserving the school community, how to support each other and keep the team and students in working condition.”
As a bonus, a cultural program. Live music concert by saxophonist and manager of “Vostok SOS” – Valeria Voloshyna. We visited a snail farm, admired the mountains, went to a pasture and watched how local people produce cheese and take care of sheep.
More photos you can find here.
We share the impressions of the participants with you:
“I decided to analyze the work of the school, and an action plan appeared – we need to implement an online platform, electronic document management. All this is new, but it will help us to improve the educational process” – Boyko Halyna, Zolotivsky Lyceum No. 5, Luhansk Region, Deputy Director of the Lyceum for Educational Work
“I realized that I am not alone, that there is support. I wanted to thank you for involving a trade union representative and an educational ombudsman. The teamwork game was also important for me. We will really need this now” – Iryna Reshetnyak, Kremin Lyceum No. 3, Luhansk Region, Director
“Thank you very much for bringing us together offline, we were able to recharge with powerful energy and relieve stress at least a little. At school, she deepened her knowledge of IHL. The game of interaction in a team is very useful” – Nataliya Bayrak, Lysychansk Lyceum No. 7, deputy director for educational work, social pedagogue
“I drew attention to the unit on documenting war crimes, it is very useful for principals from affected schools. Now I am very concerned about the preservation of the school community – thank you for providing practical information” – Natalia Nikolayeva, Lysychansk Gymnasium No. 24, Luhansk region, director
“The presumption of innocence – it is very important to keep the school team, wherever they are, until the prosecutor’s office admits guilt, they are all our people. I also realized at the school that I have a lot of energy and I will direct it in the right direction” – Natalia Zhytlova, Rubizhan Gymnasium No. 4, Luhansk region, director
The article was prepared by Yuliya Kishenko, event organizer and coordinator of educational programs of the Vostok SOS Charitable Foundation
The summer school for educators 2022 is conducted by the “Vostok SOS” Charitable Foundation in partnership with the Estonian organization MTÜ Mondo and the Educational House for Human Rights – Chernihiv, with the financial support of ESTDEV – Estonian Center for International Development
#ESTDEV #FromThePeopleOfEstonia #mondoestonia
