Educating 600,000 Ukrainian children abroad: Highlights from UWC’s and Ukraine’s Education and Foreign Ministries’ joint conference

How do we arrange an educational framework for over 600,000 Ukrainian children who permanently or temporarily reside outside of Ukraine? Such was the focus of a joint conference of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian World Congress.

Only through joint efforts will we be able to ensure the development of Ukrainian education abroad and preserve or study a Ukrainian patriot,” stated UWC President Paul Grod in his welcoming remarks, also expressing gratitude towards the partners for their cooperation. He highlighted the role of the Ukrainian World Congress and global Ukrainian communities in nurturing generations of conscious Ukrainians through institutions and a well-developed Ukrainian school program that they have independently created and nurtured over the past 130 years.

The meeting, opened by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Andrii Stashkiv, saw the participation of over 170 educators from various countries. Discussions revolved around organizing the educational process in Ukraine during a state of war, the specifics of enhancing the qualifications of teachers temporarily residing abroad, providing educational institutions abroad with textbooks and learning materials, as well as the nuances of distance learning and special programs for children studying simultaneously in Ukrainian and foreign schools.

Olena Vashchenko, Head of the Department of Public Diplomacy and Communications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and Ihor Khvorostianyi, General Director of the Directorate of School Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, also addressed Ukrainian diaspora educators. Andriy Shevchenko, Head of the UWC Mission to Ukraine, and Serhiy Kasyanchuk, Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine, attended the meeting.

“We extensively discussed with Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Andrii Stashkiv ways to collaborate on joint educational projects and initiatives, outlining strategic directions for our partnership to enhance the quality of Ukrainian education abroad,” summarized Lyuba Lyubchyk, Chair of the UWC International Educational Coordinating Council (IECC).

Lyuba Lyubchyk emphasized that similar meetings with diaspora educators will continue to be organized in the future.