The year 2024 saw a unique event in the history of Ukraine India relations. The East European Development Institute (EEDI) and PT GLOBAL EDU, two organizations, joined their efforts to implement the 1st Ukraine India Students’ Writing Contest 2024 for schoolchildren. The Embassy of Ukraine in India facilitated the liaison and communication and took part in all major project activities. The International Renaissance Foundation supported through funding the EEDI project “Ukraine and South Asia: Open Dialogues.”
An online meeting with the winners held on 17 February 2025, renewed the enthusiasm among the students, organizers and teachers. Opening the meeting, Ambassador of Ukraine to India, H. E. Dr. Oleksandr Polishchuk said, “It is a great opportunity to celebrate the success of the children. The role of children in building people to people relationships is really fundamental in taking our cooperation forward.”
Vadym Halaichuk, member of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, welcoming the participants, said, “I am very pleased to know that there is such interest in Ukraine’s history and culture among children of India and am amazed at the number of essays submitted. I would like to show you the parliament, my country and wish you success in the future.”
Dr. Mridula Ghosh, Chair of EEDI and Head of Contest Jury, Associate Professor of International Relations at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, who conceptualized the contest and its guidelines, said, “Children are our future. They are future leaders, opinion makers, entrepreneurs, diplomats and analysts. They will change the world. So, this project addressed the critical need of enhancing knowledge about Ukraine and aimed at raising awareness among children on such universal topics as culture, amity and imagination.”
The contest was organized along two age groups: Junior and Senior. The Junior group included participants from grades 6 to 8, with nomination categories “Ukraine in my dream” and “To my Ukrainian friend”; while the Senior group had participants from 9 to 12 grades under two other nomination categories: “The beauty of Ukrainian culture” and “For a strong Ukraine India Friendship”. The response was overwhelming. More than 950 essays were submitted from more than 200 schools of India. All essays were screened in Ukraine, involving a three-tier process, organized by the EEDI. All essays were marked with unique Student Reference Numbers (SRN), so that the jury shortlisting or checking could not identify the author of the essay, thus eliminating any bias in assessment. Founder and CEO of PT GLOBAL EDU, CN Patel said, “this is a unique opportunity for children not only to know about Ukraine, but also for enhancing Ukraine’s public diplomacy.”
The first screening was done by a highly qualified team of 15 senior students of the Department of English language of the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, coordinated by Vasyl Ovsiichuk. They were: Anna Anykiienko, Vladyslava Bilan, Anastasiia Dumenko, Veronika Humeniuk, Kseniia Hunkevych, Daria Kostenko, Yelyzaveta Maiboroda, Kateryna Mazur, Anastasiia Pugachuk, Renata Raksha, Olha Sheludko, Sofiia Verhun, Daryna Yakovenko, Iryna Zhmud. The essays were shortlisted and referred to the 7-member jury, comprising of professors and academics: Dr. Yaroslava Fedoriv, Dr. Alla Shuhai, Dr, Nataliya Solomashenko, Dr. Yulia Fil, Svitlana Tsilmak and Dr. Iryna Pirozhenko. There was a rigorous checking against plagiarism and AI use. Only those essays which had low, or no AI use or zero plagiarism were on the final list. The panel of jury thinks: there is still room for improvement. The third round of evaluation was even more rigorous, each such finalist was checked by all members of the jury. Only the best three in each nomination were awarded the first three places. Grand Prix went to two essays, collecting the highest points in the junior and senior groups respectively.
One of the members of the Jury, Dr. Natalia Solomashenko, addressing the winners, said, “it was a pleasure and honor to be a member of the jury. The essays were captivating, informative, and sympathetic. You are students but you have big hearts. You will face the future. Your interest in learning cross cultural understanding is amazing. I thank your teachers and mentors.” According to Dr. Yulia Fil, researcher from the National Academy of Sciences, the students are junior partners. She said, “Your essays are precious to us. You are our mirror. Through your writings, you allow Ukraine to be present in India internationally.” Dr. Olena Bordilovska, expert from the National Institute of Strategic Studies, observer of the contest, explained, “This is so important that such a big number of Indian citizens want to know about Ukraine. This is a first step towards the realization of my dream, bringing our countries together.”
Words of appreciation and gratitude from participants show that young people are best placed to develop the untapped potential of our relations. Their depth of understanding amazed everyone. Slok Saha, winner of Second prize and Naima Dutta Grand Prix winner from the junior group said that for them winning was not the aim, it was participation that triggered their interest. Kashvi Singh said she wrote about a real Ukrainian friend she met in Germany while traveling. Cherita T. S., winner of the Senior group Grand Prix mentioned about the ongoing war, the importance of unity and compassion and how she is excited to see that Ukrainian cultural values have helped people stay resilient. While Sachi Chaturvedi researched the national anthem of Ukraine to understand the spirit of the nation, for Amyra Bansal the essay writing was an eye opener that enabled her to see how Ukraine India friendship can be made stronger.
“Through this project the children have inspired adults to continue their work and have faith in the bright future. In the words of Ivan Franko, “The child is like a seed, from which a healthy nation takes root”, or to quote Mahatma Gandhi: “If you want to see real peace in the world, start with children,” concluded Dr. Mridula Ghosh.
This is just the beginning. We congratulate all the winners. A report on this project will soon be published.
Our special thanks to Volodymyr Prytula, Second Secretary and Olena Ilchuk, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine to India. We are grateful that the doors of Mount Abu Public School in New Delhi will be open for the award ceremony. Their generosity and support show their commitment to fostering cultural exchange, educational cooperation and cultural diplomacy between Ukraine and India. The ceremony will take place on 3 February 2025 from 11.30 am till 13.30 pm., Ukraine time from 8.45 till 10.00 am. Language of the event: English. For media accreditation, send a message to Volodymyr Prytula: +91 99900 30320 or call (if in Ukraine) +380 63 990 43 43
For attending online, please click:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88944942360?pwd=OJwhGe3UcsaRlA803DBfO3G400ZNNv.1
Meeting ID: 889 4494 2360 Passcode: 428918
