On March 1, 2016, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine held a conference on the occasion of the opening of the All-Ukrainian program of education for democratic citizenship "Democratic School".
The program is implemented by the Vergeland European Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Council of Europe with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway to support systemic reforms in the field of general secondary education in Ukraine. Program activity is based on the principles of the Charter of the Council of Europe on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights and corresponds to the priorities of the Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine for 2015-2017.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Science Pavlo Khobzei; executive director of the Vergeland European Center (Kingdom of Norway) Ana Perona-Fjeldstad; Taras Kremin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Science and Education of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; head of operations of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine for Science and Education, Alessandro Savaris; the first secretary of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Ukraine, Sigbjorn Lytland; chief specialist of the general secondary education department of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Raisa Yevtushenko. Heads of regional departments of education, directors of schools participating in the Program, representatives of regional institutes of postgraduate education, experts were also invited to the event.
According to Pavel Hobzei, Ukraine is a democratic country, which is proven by the history of the state, in particular, the Revolution of Dignity. "Democratic values should be implemented precisely through practice, so that specific results and achievements can be seen," - believes the Deputy Minister. Pavlo Hobzei is also sure that the school should educate children in democratic values.
Director of the Vergeland European Center, Ana Perona-Fjeldstad, emphasized that democracy begins at school. According to her, school is a place where children can learn to cooperate with each other, interact with people of opposite opinion and deal with differences in a democratic way. "For many children, school is the first meeting with public institutions. Therefore, the experience that children will have in schools determines their future fate as citizens", - believes the director of the Center.
The three-year All-Ukrainian program of education for democratic citizenship in Ukraine "Democratic School" is aimed at deepening the culture of democracy at school by supporting the democratization and decentralization of school governance, promoting state-public partnership and developing a democratic environment at school, as well as promoting the organization of educational work based on the principles education on human rights and democratic citizenship. The structure of the Program envisages the deepening of social unity and dialogue between different regions of Ukraine through the establishment of partnership relations between schools.
The Head of Operations of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine for Science and Education, Alessandro Savaris, informed that the Council of Europe aims to uphold the values of human rights and democracy before the rule of law. "Our primary tools for supporting these values are education," he says. Also, according to the head of the Office, the question of mentality, which, in particular, is shaped by education, is important for a person. "If we start teaching children at school and students at universities the principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, this will be the first step towards avoiding human rights violations," added Alessandro Savaris.
Raisa Yevtushenko, the chief general secondary education specialist of the MES, emphasized that the school is the main target audience for education in the field of democratic citizenship and human rights.
During the conference, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Vergeland European Center. This document was signed by Deputy Minister Pavlo Hobzei and Executive Director of the European Center Ana Perona-Fjeldstad.
About 480 school principals, teachers, representatives of local authorities and 120 schools from all over Ukraine will study under the "Democratic School" program. There will be four trainings per year, as well as 90-100 on-site consultations during the school year, which will involve school employees, students, parents and representatives of local communities.
