It is a great challenge to live in the times of transformations and revolutions. However, it is a great opportunity to observe how the mindset of the whole nation changes. Some say “It has been 5 years since the Revolution of Dignity” while others say “It has been only 5 years…”.
The Open University of Maidan emerged only 5 years ago. Now, it’s a platform of civic education that develops civic education in Ukraine.
It started at Lach Gates. First lectures had from ten to fifteen people only. But at the end of 2014, we had organized 295 lectures for more than 50 thousand people. Media named us as the one of the most successful social initiatives of the previous year. In 2014, we moved to the “Ukrainian house” cooperated with the Scientific Sotnia, lectured at the Stella of Independence and the Scene of Maidan. Our organization was attractive for open active people that were ready to change their country. We were uniting them by the same values and ideas.
We continued to connect the people with the School of Responsible Citizen. The School was created in cooperation with “Dialogues at the Maidan”. Since 2014 we have organized more than 30 Schools all over Ukraine. We have been in 26 cities and lectured 3500 participants. Citizens have learned how to make initiative groups and movements at our events. As a result, GroKontrol, a great example of an effective fight against corruption and reform advocation, has emerged. In Mariupol, the Open University of Maidan has become a driver of civil society creation.
We did understand that it is not enough. We did need to scale the project up. That would allow any citizen in the country to access the knowledge he or she needs. That is why we created vumonline.ua platform. It is a platform of distant online education in Ukraine. The project has begun on the 1st of October 2015. Join it here: https://vumonline.ua/.
What do we plan now? We want to help the citizens to participate in the countries life and directly influence its future. Upcoming elections will be a test for Ukrainian civil society and we get ready to educate the people on how to choose and control the officials.
We are grateful to those who have been studying with us for these 5 years, to those who make changes and is not afraid of something new. Thank you for searching for the opportunities, not the excuses.
We are also grateful to our cofounders Julia Tychkivska (Kocherhan), Roman Tychkivskyi and Oleksandr Starodubcev. A big but never final list of our friends and partners is here.
Is 5 years a long period of time? It shows us that we are not a one-day project. However, it is a great test for our team as we are closely connected with the Ukrainian society and government. We have to share our values and vision with all the citizens. The Revolution begins in your head and then continues in streets and squares.
Glory to Ukraine!