«Koreni ta Kryla» (Roots and Wings): Pylyp Orlyk Foundation’s Educational Programme for History Teachers
The Idea and Philosophy of the Programme
“Koreni ta Kryla: A History That Unites” is a comprehensive educational initiative by the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation aimed at supporting history and humanities teachers. The project creates a space where the past becomes a living tool for understanding the present, and education becomes the foundation for preserving national identity and fostering civic consciousness.
In the fourth year of full-scale invasion, the role of a history teacher in Ukraine takes on special significance. The programme helps educators transform teaching into a process of inquiry, where students do not merely memorise dates but learn to work with memory, sources, and personal experience.
The project’s goal is to equip teachers with modern methodological tools, help them master new approaches to complex historical topics, and build a sustainable professional community.
Methodology: “Memories in Boxes”
The programme is built around the original methodology of Natalia Omelchuk — “Memories in Boxes.”
- Museum as a learning space: lessons are designed so that museum exhibits and objects become sources of knowledge, and students become active researchers.
- Tactility and emotion: using “boxes with objects” connects historical facts with emotional and tactile experience, deepening comprehension.
- Lesson as excursion: history is explored through urban space and local contexts.
Summer School Structure and Schedule
The programme combines intensive offline modules and regular online support:
- Module 1 (June 12–14): Foundations of the “Memories in Boxes” methodology using the “Introduction to History” course (Grade 5). Hands-on training with the National Museum of Ukrainian History.
- Module 2 (July 10–12): Human rights and freedoms: the struggle during wartime. Presentation of methodological guidelines “Bykivnia, Babyn Yar, Bucha — Between Massacre and Its Memory.” Together with the Lonsky Prison Museum. Speakers: Olha Salo, Olesya Isayuk, Tetiana Sheptytska, Anatoliy Podolsky.
- Module 3 (August 14–16): Ethnopedagogy as an educational and cognitive resource. Practical session at the Ivan Honchar Museum with Yaroslava Muzychenko.
- September–October: a series of online sessions to support teachers in implementing the methods in their schools.
- October 29: closing conference and presentation of developed case studies.
What Participants Receive
Selected participants are provided with everything needed for quality work:
- Methodological materials: a “teacher’s box” with a set of objects, guides, and workbooks.
- Mentorship support: regular supervision and consultations from programme experts.
- Professional community: access to a network of innovative educators for experience exchange.
The Pylyp Orlyk Foundation fully covers accommodation, meals, and travel costs for school participants.
Author and Organisers
Natalia Omelchuk — programme author, educational initiatives expert, postgraduate researcher at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University. Specialises in museum pedagogy and working with traumatic memory.
The Pylyp Orlyk Foundation is an independent platform working at the intersection of culture, education, and information outreach, strengthening Ukraine’s presence in the world.
