HREC ED in Ukraine: Sixth Annual Summer School for human rights and the Holodomor 2023
The theme for this year’s Sixth International Verba Magistri Methodology Lab Summer School for Educators in Ukraine at the New Ukrainian School–“Litna Shkola” (29 July–10 August 2023) was “Innovative Methods of Teaching the History of the Holodomor and Other Genocides.” Every year, this summer school offers an intensive course of study and interactions with acclaimed academics, methodologists, and 18 young teachers selected by the Ministry of Education and Science participating from different regions of Ukraine. The program combines academic lectures, master classes, hands-on learning, presentations, discussions, workshops, film screenings, and excursions.
HREC director of education Valentina Kuryliw taught 3 online sessions this year: “The Historian’s Craft Lesson,” “An Analysis of Acquired Methodology and Learning Skills,” and “Human Rights and the Holodomor” – with a comparative analysis using the U.N. Convention on Genocide of the Holodomor and Russia’s current war on Ukraine.
Now in its sixth year of programming, the Verba Magistri Methodology Lab has been running its annual Additional Qualifications summer training session for educators on teaching human rights and the Holodomor for the ministry’s New Ukrainian School’s Summer Program. This year it took place in Uzhorod, in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine.
The event is organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine together with the NGO HREC in Ukraine (the Ukrainian Research and Educational Center for the Study of the Holodomor) with the support and assistance of the Institute of the History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and HREC Education, at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta.
Amongst the numerous distinguished educators teaching the summer school sessions were Dr. Paul Robert Magocsi, Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the
University of Toronto; Dr. Andrii Maslyuk, senior researcher at the H. S. Kostyuk Institute of Psychology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Valery Ostrovsky, Ph.D. candidate and methodologist at the Ivano-Frankivsk Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education; Dr. Stanislav Kulchytski, chief researcher at the Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Raisa Yevtushenko, director of programming for preschool, middle school, senior school curriculum and inclusive education for the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Dr. Liudmyla Hrynevych, D.Sc., director of HREC in Ukraine and leading researcher of the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Dr. Oleksandr Hladun, DSc(ECON), deputy director for scientific work of the Institute of Demography and Social Research named after M.V. Ptukha of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, with others.
Educators presenting their curricular work during the 6th International Summer
School Program. Photo by Oleksiy Popovich.
The objective of the summer school for educators has been to introduce both current research on the Holodomor and new approaches and methodologies that would enhance the development of critical and historical thinking skills in students, a requirement of the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Ukraine’s New Ukrainian School curriculum guidelines.
The “Verba Magistri” international methodology lab for educators is a project of HREC in Ukraine founded in September 2016 in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta with the aim of supporting systemic democratic reforms in the field of education in Ukraine.
6th International Summer School 2023 graduates with their certificates.
2023 Holodomor Summer School Receives Rave Reviews from Educators
“I am incredibly grateful for every moment of our summer school training. This experience has changed my worldview and inspired new achievements!”
– Educator from the Zaporizhia region
Photo credit: Daria Ryabokon
Photo credit: Daria Ryabokon
“Verba Magistri supports systematic democratic reforms in Ukraine.”
– Educator from the Chernivtsi region
Photo credit: Daria Ryabokon
Photo credit: Daria Ryabokon
“The analytical conversations will be remembered for a lifetime…Verba Magistri shone richly, progressively, innovatively. The knowledge, pedagogical experiences and unforgettable emotions form good memories for the teacher-practitioner. They will inspire interesting research, professional considerations and be a motivation to the creation and implementation of new projects.”
– Educator from the Ternopil region
Photo credit: Lilia Volyanuk
“An incredibly busy 10 days. Verba Magistri is a bridge and a space for the free exchange of views between academics and educators in introduction to effective educational methods for teaching about the Holodomor and other genocides and for forming respect for human rights and humanistic values in young adults. It’s the most interesting program – all conditions for teacher growth and development and more have been created. Thank you to the organizers for the new experiences and knowledge, for the motivation and inspiration, the thematic excursions and active recreation, the many recommendations and attention to each of us participants.”
– Educator from Zaporizhia region
See also:
Information about the Summer School program on the Ukrainian education ministry’s website page.
Article written by Valentina Kuryliw about the 6th Annual International Summer School for the Holodomor90 website (photos).