Educational Institute for Democracy and Civil Society in Eastern Ukraine, second year

The second year of the project titled "Educational Institute for Democracy and Civil Society in Eastern Ukraine" (VIDOS) started with a ceremony in the auditorium of the Kharkiv National University of Economics on 24 October 2011. The project followed a project with the same title, "Educational Institute for Democracy and Civil Society in Eastern Ukraine", that took place in 2009-2010 and was also financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The 2011 VIDOS project was divided into several activities: four three-day seminars, the publication of a study brochure, and a ten-day study visit (the CDK Winter School) in the Czech Republic for the top five students.

Among the guests at the opening ceremony in March were: František Mikš, director of CDK, Kateřina Hloušková, coordinator of CDK's transition projects, Lubomír Kopeček, political scientist and professor at Masaryk University, and Jaroslav Pešek, director of the non-profit organization Union of Young Europeans. The General Consul of the Czech Republic in Donetsk, Antonín Murgaš, and the head of Kharkiv's International Department, Viktor Rud, participated as well. All of these attendees recognized the work of CDK and its Institute in the previous year and expressed their support for all of the activities in 2011.

More than 160 students and teachers from nine local universities applied for the 2011 VIDOS project. The quality of the applicants was high. This was shown during the first twelve lessons, which took place over three days and included opportunities for individual discussions. The students showed knowledge, courage, and the desire to express themselves. It is important to stress that their evaluations of the contemporary political and social situation of the Ukrainian people was mostly negative, but their will to change things was strong. This can be seen in some student activities, such as that of Dmytro Tiutiunnyk, who wrote an article entitled "Were the Last Twenty Years Worth It? Ukraine Counter-Democracy and Civil Society", which was published in Revue Politika.

Local media covered the start of the 2011 VIDOS project and broadcast some reports and interviews with its representatives on 25 and 26 March 2011.

CDK is known to Ukrainian students not only for its good name, which has been connected with its project activities since 2006, but also for its new educational program within the 2011 project. This program aims at helping project participants learn how to put their ideas on paper and write project proposals. Moreover, the lectures also showed some possible places to find grants.

There are significantly fewer active NGOs in Ukraine than in the Czech Republic, so CDK decided to focus its 2011 activities on teaching young people to create their own ideas, write their own projects, formulate them within the application forms, create a solid budget, and obtain money from foreign donors.

Students of the following Kharkiv universities participated in the project:

• Kharkiv National University of Economics
• National Academy of Public Administration under President of Ukraine
• National Technical University Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute
• Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs
• Kharkiv Trade and Economic Institute under the Kiev National Trade and Economic University
• Kharkiv Humanitarian University "Ukrainian People's Academy"
• Kharkiv National University of Economics
• Donetsk State University of Management
• Karazin Kharkiv National University

Study program in 2011

23 - 27 March 2011 (12 lessons, 90 min. each)

Students gained basic information on how democracy and civil society function based on examples from the Czech transition period and the gradual growth of the Czech non-profit sector. They learned about Czech and Ukrainian history and affinities and compared the Czech and Ukrainian environments, not only in terms of civil society development.

Lecturers

• František Mikš, CDK director
• Lubomír Kopeček, political scientist at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University
• Jaroslav Pešek, director of the Union of Young Europeans
• Kateřina Hloušková, CDK project coordinator
• Larysa Brzobohatá, translator

25 - 29 May, 2011 (12 lessons, 90 min. each)

Students learned about the main issues of European integration, gained information about EU institutions and policies, and EU expansion, and became aware of current EU affairs and trends in the Eastern European area.

Lecturers

• Petra Kuchyňková, assistant at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University
• Ondřej Krutílek, CDK analyst
• Larysa Brzobohatá, translator

14 - 18 September 2011 (12 lessons, 90 min. each)

About fifty students participated in a theoretical course focused on project writing, application procedures, project implementation, project and financial management, and project financing. Those students had also attended all of the previous lectures in previous months. All lecturers were experienced and able to share their practical knowledge with the students.

The lessons provided a theoretical base for the "homework". Each student, individually or in groups, prepared a project proposal to discuss at the November seminar.

Lecturers

• Iveta Frízlová, CDK project coordinator
• Jaroslav Pešek, director of the Union of Young Europeans
• Sabina Dvořáková, executive director of DEMAS
• Veronika Štěrbová, consultant for Eurovision, Ltd.
• Vita Bazan, project coordinator at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, Kiev
• Larysa Brzobohatá, translator

9 - 13 November 2011 (individual lessons)

The last seminar was mostly practical. CDK director František Mikš and Pavel Loutocký, Secretary of Brno City Hall, presented two lectures. Mr Mikš spoke about CDK's projects and activities in Ukraine, and Mr. Loutocký presented several projects in which Brno is involved or that it finances. During the practical part, students consulted on their projects individually.

CDK received twelve project proposals, which were evaluated by Sabina Dvořáková and Veronika Štěrbová. Both experts participated in the September course and thus had had a chance to work with the students before. Both experts evaluated the project concept, structure, implementation possibilities, budget, and methodology. The students received feedback that can help them with the future completion of the project.

The project ideas included: internet education for seniors, hippotherapy, ecological education, an incubator for start-up companies, youth in the countryside, the creation of an internet website providing information about the tax system, and a small business association. Most students had found in advance how they could implement their projects and even contacted potential local participants (university, city, etc.).

CKD will follow these activities. We believe some will be implemented in the future.

During the November lecture, fifty students who had participated in lectures during the year and passed tests were granted certificates in the lifelong study program accredited by the Czech Ministry of Education. František Mikš, CDK director, and Volodymyr Yermachenko, pro-rector of the Kharkiv National University of Economics, participated in the ceremony. The top five students were also granted an opportunity to go to the Czech Republic and take part in a study visit, the "CDK Winter School".

Study visit - CDK Winter School

Of the students who had participated in lectures, successfully passed both exams, and written project proposals, the five best were given the opportunity to take part in the CDK Winter School, which took the form of a study visit. This was the third time such a visit has been organized for the top CDK project students.

The study visit took place from 20 - 29 November 2011 in Brno and Prague. Students were originally from the partner Kharkiv National University of Economics and two other universities in Kharkiv. All of the students were very active, curious about the institutions and organizations they visited, and interested in gathering as much information, experience, and analysis as possible for use in their future studies, activities, and careers.

One of the students, Dmytro Tiutiunnyk, wrote after he returned to Ukraine: "The visit to the Czech Republic and our meetings with representatives of NGOs and government agencies themselves was a very great experience. We looked inside NGOs. We discovered the results of the work of a developed civil society. We met with very highly educated people, experts in their profession. I was inspired by meeting these people."

Program

The students visited several institutions and organizations while they were in Brno and Prague. The non-profit NGOs included: the Partnership Foundation, the Ecological Institute Veronica, the League of Human Rights, Agora Central Europe, DEMAS, and the Forum 2000 Foundation.

The students met with the representatives of several important institutions in the Czech Republic that played and still play very important roles in our democratic society. The students were surprised by the representatives' open approach and willingness to answer all their questions. The students met with a representative of the Constitutional Court, spoke with a judge from the Supreme Administrative Court, debated with a deputy of the Public Defender of Rights, and were introduced to the Secretary of the Brno City Hall.

One morning at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University, they discussed the issue of Ukrainian integration into EU structures and the domestic political situation.

The group was joined by an analyst from the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Kiev. This Institute established a strong cooperation with CDK in 2011 and plans to continue in these activities in 2012.

Interview with Petra Kuchyňková, CDK analyst and an assistant at Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University: The Czech Republic's way to the EU: feel the difference

Two students from the People in Need project also joined the group, which became truly international and enriching for all its members.

Our students assured us that they will stay in touch with CDK and volunteer in our future project activities in Kharkiv.