Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and Ukrainian Educational Council USA Discuss Prospects for Cooperation
The Pylyp Orlyk Foundation team held a working online meeting with representatives of the School Council of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (Ukrainian Educational Council USA) — one of the key institutions of Ukrainian education in the United States, which coordinates cooperation among Ukrainian schools and for more than 70 years has supported the development of Ukrainian schooling in America.
Meeting Participants and Areas of Cooperation
The meeting on behalf of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation was attended by Program Director Yaryna Yasynievych, Educational Programs Coordinator Natalia Omelchuk, and Advisor for Strategic Communications, Institutional Engagement, and Digital Development Oksana Poltavets.
During the meeting, the parties discussed promising areas of cooperation in education, the preservation of Ukrainian identity, and support for Ukrainian communities abroad.
The Foundation’s Experience in Europe and the “Roots and Wings” Program
Pylyp Orlyk Foundation Program Director Yaryna Yasynievych presented the Foundation’s experience of cooperation with Ukrainian educational centers in Poland, the Czech Republic, as we previously reported, and Denmark, as we previously reported, and spoke about the Foundation’s involvement in a school project in Sweden. Among the Foundation’s further areas of work is the development of cooperation with Ukrainian schools in the countries of Northern Europe and the Baltics.
The meeting focused primarily on prospects for scaling the mentoring program “Roots and Wings: History That Unites” to Ukrainian schools in the USA. The program is based on the original methodology “Memories in Boxes,” developed by Pylyp Orlyk Foundation Educational Programs Coordinator Natalia Omelchuk.
Natalia Omelchuk presented in detail the program’s concept and modern interactive methods of teaching history, aimed at engaging students in reflecting on the past, family memory, and their own identity.
Partners’ Assessment and Next Steps
Special attention during the conversation was given to questions of strategic engagement and possible formats for further cooperation. Pylyp Orlyk Foundation Advisor for Strategic Communications, Institutional Engagement, and Digital Development Oksana Poltavets joined the discussion.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Educational Council USA highly praised the concept of the “Roots and Wings” program, its practical format of working with teachers, and the results of its implementation in the Czech Republic and Denmark.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to work out a possible model for adapting the program to the needs of Ukrainian schools in the USA and to identify the first joint steps for developing further cooperation.
