A project called “Empathy Bridges: Connecting Ukrainian and Indian Hearts” (Building Bridges between Ukrainian and Indian schools) was initiated by the Embassy of Ukraine in India with EEDI support between Fr. Agnel School (FAS, Director Fr. J.A. Carvalho), New Delhi, India and Kyiv Gymnasium of Oriental Languages (Director Oksana Proskura), Kyiv, Ukraine. The project is the brainchild of eminent journalist Rudroneel Ghosh and enjoys tutelage of Volodymyr Prytula, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in India.

The aim of the project is to cultivate empathy and cultural understanding among schoolchildren. Through various interactive activities, kids will learn about each other’s daily lives, cultures, traditions, and building bridges of empathy and friendship across borders. Age of target group is between 9-13 years, and there are between 20-25 schoolchildren participating from each side. It is expected that during the one year period from May 2024 – December 2024, the students will engage in: pen pal – exchange letters and learn about each other’s lives and cultures; virtual sessions on traditions, festivals, and daily life experiences, collaborative projects such as creating a digital cultural magazine or a joint art exhibition and storytelling sessions where students can share folktales and stories from their respective cultures.

On 12 July, 2024, EEDI conducted survey of the children using a questionnaire which had both multiple choice options as well as open ended questions. The answers are being processed now and a report will be available very soon.