Students know how to unite the Ukrainian state

In late March 2006 students from the Department of Political Science at Mechnikov National University in Odesa attended the launch of a book from The Day’s Library Series, which was hosted by the newspaper’s editor Larysa Ivshyna at the Gorky State Scholarly Library. During the ensuing discussions the students asked her a question that served as the starting point along the path to the internal integration of young Ukrainians: What is Ukraine’s national idea?

The editor of The Day, who is the author of the book My Universities, has often fielded this question from students and scholars. Ivshyna said that the best place to discuss this question is the restored Ostroh Academy, Ukraine’s first institution of higher education, where the nation’s historical spirit is combined with latter-day patriotism.

By May 2006 a handful of enthusiastic young students from Odesa, who wanted to experience something more than just attending classes in their lecture halls, came on a visit to Ostroh. This seemingly small step helped establish a large-scale cause with a nationwide dimension. These students, who were making their first visit to western Ukraine, finally had an opportunity to become acquainted with their peers at Ostroh Academy. This encounter served to shatter many eastern Ukrainian stereotypes about their fellow citizens who live in the western regions.

It was at this time that the students from both parts of the country, together with the editor of The Day, came up with the idea to create an association whose goal would be to unite young people from various parts of Ukraine. That is how the Ostroh Intellectual Youth Club was founded.

Some people may have been skeptical about such a club. After all, civic organizations with similar goals spring up every day in Ukraine, but they either quickly disappear or turn into your average grant-eaters, without any strength to counteract society’s resistance. But the fact that the Ostroh Club was established by students was in itself significant. Young people’s boundless enthusiasm, knowledge, and need for communicating with like-minded people made the idea of the Ostroh club sustainable.

By November 2006 the old acquaintances had met in Odesa, where they were joined by students from the Department of Political Science at Karazin National University in Kharkiv. The main format of the Ostroh Club’s activity had been established in Odesa: to hold discussions about questions of national unity and Ukraine’s internal and external integration into a thinking audience. On the Day of Ukraine’s Unification, Jan. 22, 2007, the members of the Ostroh club all convened again at Ostroh Academy, where students from Donetsk National University were invited. The latter eventually became an inseparable part of the organization.

Since then, club members have held meetings in Kharkiv, Lutsk, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kyiv. The Ostroh Club has just held a meeting in Dnipropetrovsk. All the members have become real friends, because they are united by a common cause, which is strengthening by the fact that they spend their vacations together on the Black Sea coast, and the Christmas holidays in the Carpathians, where they study Hutsul traditions.

Clearly, the cause initiated by the Ostroh Club is important and topical. In the last two years of the club’s activity its members have won recognition from society. They are frequently invited to take part in conferences, roundtables, and book launches, and every day they encounter people who are eager to join the club.

The second anniversary of the Ostroh Club was marked by its members’ participation in the Ukrainian Intellectual Youth Forum entitled “Tomorrow: the World, Ukraine, and I,” which hosted a meeting with Kofi Annan, the UN’s seventh secretary-general, a distinguished political figure whose activities deserve to be emulated. During his talks with the students who hold scholarships from the Zavtra.ua Program and the members of the Ostroh Club, Annan expressed an opinion that, in a sense, is the slogan of the UN’s activity: “Nobody is born a good citizen: one’s civil position has to be formed.”

In the past two years the members of the Ostroh Intellectual Youth Club have been trying, step by step, to form their civil position and understanding of the Ukrainian state’s needs. They have amassed positive experience, yet there is still much work ahead.

Daryna VOROBIOVA, member of the Ostroh Club, Kharkiv:

“The idea for young people to engage in free intellectual communication has often been raised, but today it is embodied in the best way in the Ostroh Club, which unites young people from various regions of Ukraine. The representatives of Kharkiv region joined this club in November 2006 in Odesa. I went to Odesa to attend what I thought would be just another roundtable, but I found myself in a completely different environment, where everyone listens carefully to each other, where each reasonable opinion is not ignored but is thoroughly discussed, and where truly free communication with like-minded young people is possible. Like the rest of our country, I was a prisoner of the myth that we are different, and that we will never find any common language with western Ukraine. But everything turned out to be the opposite: despite the fact that we speak different languages and understand some things differently, we are all Ukrainians and we have a common goal: to become better and to make life better, because our ancestors did everything to make our lives better. And we deserve this, as do our children, so our duty is to put all our efforts into creating a better future.

“Two years have passed, and the idea of free intellectual communication has not lost its importance. We have grown more united and in the process have become good friends. We are meeting more frequently, and now we are invited to different universities to take part in various events. All this is very gratifying because it proves that we are doing something that is truly beneficial and growing in popularity. We are open to suggestions and we always respond to interesting ideas.

“One recent event was our club’s participation in the Zavtra.ua Forum in Kyiv, which was attended by one of the best-known people in the world - former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who headed this organization for nearly 10 years. Painful questions concerning our country were discussed at this forum: Ukraine’s foreign and domestic policies, priorities of development, the consequences of globalization, and Ukraine’s prospects. It was also interesting for us to hear the opinions of experts and students who hold scholarships from the Zavtra.ua Program.

“For me, the Ostroh Club is, first of all, a circle of like-minded friends who listen to your opinion of important events and offer interesting advice. I am a member of the Ostroh Club because I want to do something useful for my country, and I hope that together we will be successful.”

Denys PODIACHEV, member of the Ostroh Club, Kharkiv:

“It so happened that exactly two years after the first meeting of students from the Department of Political Science, which became the forerunner of the Ostroh Club, we were invited to attend the youth forum “Tomorrow: the World, Ukraine, and I,” organized by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation. Despite the fact that all the attention was focused on the main guest - former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - the representatives of the Ostroh Club managed to talk to all the students taking part in the forum: young scholars and future professionals from every corner of the country. It is gratifying for me to know that the trip was successful because we succeeded in making ambitious young people interested in our ideas. They have something to say about their scholarly directions, so it is interesting for them to express their thoughts, impressions, and beliefs. As an organization that postulates the crucial need to raise the level of social integration via young people communicating with each other, we considered it a must to take part in this event, which had this precise aim.”

Ivan KAPSAMUN, member of the Ostroh Club, Odesa:

“The Ostroh Club has given me an opportunity to get to know myself and broaden my general outlook, and it has helped me to discover my organizational qualities. I also learned more about the university where I study and to compare different universities in Ukraine. The Ostroh Club gave me an opportunity to get to know Ukraine, visit different cities, meet different kinds of people, and establish relations with them. We also have an opportunity to assess the richness of Ukraine’s culture and economy. We have done much in two years, but we could have done more. But there is a time for everything.”

Serhii STUKANOV, member of the Ostroh Club, Donetsk:

“For me, the Ostroh Club is a symbol of the unity of Ukrainian society. This is an opportunity to develop common positions during discussions and convey them to different audiences in different cities. The Ostroh Club is a spiritual community of fellow thinkers. In the last two years the members of the Ostroh Club have matured and reached a new level of social needs. I congratulate everyone on the occasion of the club’s second anniversary, and I wish you much strength for your future work.”

Prof. Ihor PASICHNYK, rector of the National University of Ostroh Academy:

“Like most ideas with a future, the idea of establishing the Ostroh Intellectual Youth Club came about in a spontaneous way. We held our traditional conference called ‘Days of Science at Ostroh Academy,’ which was attended by faculty and students from various Ukrainian institutions of higher learning. Many of them attended on the advice of Larysa Ivshyna, who suggested that people visit Ostroh Academy. The guests came away with vivid impressions. There were many events, including tours of the academy and the old town of Ostroh, as well as interesting reports. There was also a bonfire one evening, which ended with everyone singing Ukraine’s national hymn. All the discussions and socializing were extremely interesting and free of complexes.

“Naturally, we wanted further communication, and that’s how the Ostroh Club was born. At first, the meetings were held mostly in Ostroh, because this was where the idea to form the club had appeared. Later its members began meeting in different cities: Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk. The club is doing what our politicians should be doing: it is bringing about Ukraine’s internal integration. Every time the members of the Ostroh Club come to our academy, I try to meet with them. I am impressed by the enthusiasm and ardor with which the students have brought to the cause of our state’s unification. You feel their power during the meetings. These are the finest representatives of our universities, so it is no surprise that their work has not remained on the level of ideas alone. The Ostroh Club is only two years old, yet how much has been done! I hope the club, as well as the many other initiatives that found their beginnings in Ostroh, enjoy a rosy future, especially since they have found a patron in Larysa Ivshyna, who hails from the Volyn region.”