European Days at the Gymnasium of Oriental Languages in Kiev
Tuesday, 12th of May 2009 was one of the so-called "European Days" at the Gymnasium of Oriental Languages in Kiev. As the name suggests, those days were devoted to the promotion of knowledge about the European Union. During this week every day the pupils are given the possibility to get to know the separate member states of the EU, their peculiarities, as well as their interaction and relations by creating several posters or making exercises, for example, connected to this topic. Of course, it was also thought to foster the understanding of multiculturality and societal heterogeneity, in general generating awareness of how important it is for Ukraine as a state, as well as a whole society to be geared to the European Union and its values, respectively.
Being aware of the significance of having an inhabitant of one of the EU member states talking about life in his motherland, the school's headmaster, Mykhajlo Savchenko, invited me to talk with some of his ambitious pupils about Austria. I was very proud to be given this unique opportunity on the one hand to gain such an insight into this school which is enjoying a good reputation throughout Ukraine, on the other hand to be in exchange with Ukrainian pupils interested in different cultures. Moreover, a significant part of my auditory had even once been to Austria! After my presentation I enjoyed answering questions as well as posing some myself, as it was also in my interest to get to know about the educational life in Ukraine.
Finally, after the ceremonial handover of an official document signed by Mr. Savchenko, I was given a tour though the school and even through the museum of ethnicity of the school. Frankly speaking, I was very happy that I had accepted the invitation, because my stay there made a lasting impression on me.
Alex Kirner,
Volunteer of the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies
Announcements
MoreLatest News
-
Meeting of the Research Teams for the "One Stone, One Life" Project
On June 9, 2026, the Maidan Museum's Information and Exhibition Center in Kyiv hosted the final meeting of the research teams for the international project One Stone, One Life: 80 Stumbling Stones for Kyiv. Six teams of young researchers gathered to review their work since October, joined by speakers Oleksandr Voroniuk, Nadiia Ufimtseva, and Anatolii Podolskyi.
[More] -
Stumbling Stone Unveiled in Honor of Liia Bubnova
On June 3, 2026, Kyiv’s 16th Stumbling Stone was installed on Bulvarno-Kudriavska Street in honor of Liia Bubnova - a Kyiv pharmacist, mother, wife, and Jewish woman who perished in Babyn Yar in 1941. The installation is part of the project One Stone – One Life. 80 Stumbling Stones for Kyiv, initiated by the German Embassy in Kyiv and implemented by the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies in cooperation with the Kyiv City State Administration
[More] -
Museum Practices and Transformations in the Commemoration of World War II
On May 27–28, 2026, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War hosted the international conference Museum Practices and Transformations in the Commemoration of World War II, funded by Germany's EVZ Foundation. The event brought together scholars and museum professionals from 43 leading institutions across 15 countries, including the Imperial War Museum (UK), the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (Poland), the Terezín Memorial (Czech Republic), and the NEMO network.
[More] -
Ukraine in European and World History: Contemporary Scholar and Educational Discourse
On May 22, 2026, the Faculty of History at Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian State University hosted the landmark 15th All-Ukrainian Drahomanov Readings of Young Historians: Ukraine in European and World History: Contemporary Scholar and Educational Discourse. This online conference with international participation brought together scholars, lecturers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and young researchers from various regions of Ukraine and Poland.
[More] -
International Scientific-Practical Conference “Unity in Diversity: The Historical, Socio-Cultural and Geopolitical Dimension of the EU’s Core Idea for Ukraine”
On May 14-15, 2026, Oles Honchar Dnipro National University hosted the International Scientific-Practical Conference Unity in Diversity: The Historical, Socio-Cultural and Geopolitical Dimension of the EU’s Core Idea for Ukraine. The event was held within the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module project European Multiculturalism as an Experience and a Path for Ukraine’s European Integration with financial support from the European Union.
[More]




