For the fifteenth year in a row, the International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations runs the Summer School «Step to Ukraine». This time the School lasts for two weeks – from July 18 to August 1 (there will be a closing ceremony and presentation of certificates).
Deputy Director of IECDR Andrii Yatsiv told us about the specifics and main highlights of the study program.
– What is special about this year’s Summer School «Step to Ukraine»?
– For the third time in 15 years our Summer School is held online. The pandemic was a challenge for us, but we managed to organize our work in such a way to get closer to our students and expand the number of people willing to study the Ukrainian language and culture. We have opportunities for anyone from any country in the world and time zone to participate in our School. So this year we have students from nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Romania, Slovenia and the United States.
For the first time 11 Ukrainian women from the diaspora, who by the decision of the Scholarship Committee of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations received the Anna Kisil Scholarship, are studying here. Also for the second time, with the assistance of the Union of the Ukrainians of Romania, students from four Romanian universities take part in the School.
– What opportunities do you offer for your students?
– The Ukrainian diaspora of different ages study here, as well as foreigners who are not of Ukrainian origin, but they are very interested in our culture and country.
We have eight groups that study the language at different levels – A, B, C. There are students who are taking the first steps to learning the language, as well as those who already know the language well, but want to speak it fluently.
We are very pleased that there are students who are participating in our Summer Schools for several times. They are motivated to learn the Ukrainian language. This time we have a student from Germany who is studying here for the third time, and students from Romania who have come again to improve their level.
