Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Katharína Mathernová attends the ‘Together We Learn & Grow’ communication campaign event in Chernivtsi

On October 24, 2024, an awareness-raising event was held in Chernivtsi with the participation of Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová. This event opened a series of regional activities within the framework of the All-Ukrainian communication campaign - Together We Learn & Grow. The EU and Ukraine Creating a Common European Future- to showcase the European Union's support for Ukrainian education and youth in times of war.

In today's challenging and unpredictable Ukrainian wartime context, capacity of the state and educators to provide quality education for children and youth is critical, as it is about the future of the nation and those who will be working to rebuild and modernise Ukraine. Thus, at the very outbreak of the large-scale Russian war, the EU adopted a number of comprehensive decisions to create the safest and most decent learning and development conditions for Ukrainian schoolchildren and students, both those studying in Ukraine and those forced to seek refuge in EU member states. As of today, the funding for education and youth programmes has reached EUR 200 million, including both support for existing projects and new areas in response to urgent wartime needs.

Therefore, it is important to communicate comprehensive information about opportunities for children, students, educators, and young people to the general public using all communication channels, including public events, discussions, and exchanges with experts from educational projects, participants in EU-funded programmes, students, and teachers.

In the Marble Hall of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, the Ambassador met with students of the leading Ukrainian university and spoke about the opportunities provided to university youth and researchers by EU educational programmes, including Erasmus+. The Ambassador held a discussion with the students and answered their questions.

Katharína Mathernová, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine:

"Since 2014, every seventh school has been damaged and 400 have been destroyed completely. With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU has stepped up its support to education and youth initiatives in Ukraine, allocating more than EUR 200M. We are rehabilitating educational facilities, building shelters in schools, providing school buses and textbooks, and facilitating access to modern learning platforms and international exchange opportunities. We have significantly increased our support for vocational education and skills training programmes for veterans and IDPs, and are helping to build leadership skills for the youth who will be taking responsibility for Ukraine tomorrow. All of our projects are interconnected, complement each other and nurture lifelong learning. Investment in knowledge is an investment in the future of Ukraine and in our common European future."

The new opportunities offered to Ukrainian students and young people by EU-funded programmes were discussed at a meeting of the Building a Common European Future Discussion Club. The discussion was attended by:

• Anastasiya Omelchenko, leading specialist of the International Relations Department at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
• Larysa Vornik, EU Information Centre Coordinator at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
• Kateryna Zhdanova, Project Manager, Coordinator of Youth and Sports, Individual Opportunities, National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine
• Veronika Yashnova, Erasmus+ exchange participant, University of Klagenfurt, Austria.

Liliia Hrynevych, Vice-Rector of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine in 2016-2019, delivered a motivating lecture on Education for the Post-War Development of Ukraine.

Ruslan Biloskurskyi, Rector of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University:

«The European experience in education not only opens new horizons for Ukrainian universities but also helps to shape modern approaches to learning. Collaboration with the European Union allows us to implement innovative educational methods, enhance academic mobility for students and professors, and strengthen scientific research. This directly impacts the quality of our graduates' training, bringing them closer to European standards and the demands of the international labour market.»

The digital media kit can be downloaded here.

Background

The awareness-raising event in Chernivtsi with the participation of Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Katharína Mathernová is part of the All-Ukrainian communication campaign entitled Together We Learn & Grow. EU and Ukraine Creating a Common European Future. It marked the kick-off of a series of regional activities that will take place as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the EU's support for Ukrainian education and youth in times of war.

The all-Ukrainian communication campaign Together We Learn & Grow was launched on September 27, 2024, and will run until January 2025. It will cover all regions of Ukraine (except for the temporarily occupied territories), where numerous outreach events, expert discussions, meetings with representatives and beneficiaries of EU-funded programmes and projects, and media tours will take place.

The campaign's media partners are 1+1, ICTV, Espresso, and Ukrayinska Pravda. Life.

To find out more about the communication campaign activities, please follow the news on our website, as well as on the EU Delegation to Ukraine's pages on Facebook, Instagramand Twitter/Х.

Contacts

Tetiana Voronina, Media Expert, 'Communicating the European Union for Ukrainians' (CEU4U), an EU-funded project implemented by Ecorys, [email protected], +38 067 501 11 83

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