In February 2014, 100 people – now known as the “Heavenly Hundred” – were shot dead by riot police during protests in Independence Square, Kiev. The “revolution of dignity” began as an outcry against the then-president Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of a trade deal with the EU, but it quickly spiralled into violence. The revolution became symbolic of a shift that has turned Ukraine away from Russia and towards Europe.
Mustafa Nayem was at the heart of those protests, having posted the original call on Facebook for people to come to the square. Now a Member of Parliament, he has launched a non-government initiative, GoGlobal, to improve Ukrainians’ English language skills, and GoCamp – a series of residential camps where volunteers from all over the world come to Ukraine to teach children how to speak English.
GoGlobal plans to bring 1,000 foreign volunteers to more than 600 schools and teach 100,000 pupils all over the country in Summer 2017. GoGlobal aims for all children aged 10 to 15, to be able to speak English by 2020. GoCamp is about cultural awareness and learning a new language.
Organised camps will focus on one of four areas: Steam (science, technology, engineering, art and maths); civic education; leadership and careers; sports and fitness. Volunteers are expected to teach children how to become leaders, think critically and be tolerant and compassionate towards others.
It is the next generation of Ukrainians who will overhaul the country – in order to achieve this, the kids would need to be inspired.
Read more here.
Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2017