Time and again I have been impressed by the benefits of exchange programs between the U.S. and Ukraine and the tremendous return on investment.
Last night I joined a few former Peace Corp Volunteers and some of their Ukrainian friends for drinks in Kiev before they each go their separate ways. The majority of the group had worked together for an organization called Youth CAN which hosts a camp for youth to encourage them to develop projects in their town on an issue they feel passionately about. Some of the frequent topics are HIV/AIDS, environmental protection, trafficking in persons, and healthy lifestyles. Youth CAN started as a Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV) project 12 years ago and continues to have a close relationship with PCVs. Around 100 students age 16 – 26 go through the program every year and Iryna Mazar said that PCVs bring students in from small villages who otherwise would never know about Youth CAN’s activities. This is a particularly dynamic organization but there are several others I have come across with similar roots. Ukraine was (and might still be) the largest country for Peace Corp Volunteers and I have heard repeatedly about the impact of having a foreigner in some of the small villages where youth do not have access to the internet or many other windows to the outside world.
Student Exchange
FLEX is another program sponsored by American Councils which sends high school students to the U.S. for one year. FLEX alumni are required to do community service projects when they return and a few of the projects I have come across include working with orphans and setting up an organization for young professionals in Ukraine. A recent project by Youth CAN to bring together students from different regions of Ukraine to talk about tolerance and diversity was sponsored by a few FLEX alumni. My roommate in Kiev is a graduate of the Muskie Program, now administered by IREX, which sends Ukrainians to the U.S. for master’s programs. In Ukraine there are no educational programs on human rights, public policy or civil society so this program makes these areas of study possible. These are anecdotal stories, but throughout Ukraine, students who have returned from studying abroad and volunteers from other countries are making a tremendous impact on civil society development.
Open World
Last Tuesday I attended the pre-departure orientation for 21 participants of the Open World “Women Leaders” Program which sends groups to the U.S. for 
10 days to speak with colleagues working on similar issues (a few of the participants are featured to the left). Before leaving, participants expressed interest in non-governmental organizations, treatment of gender issues in the U.S., how women in the U.S. balance work and family, and many other questions they hoped to have answered through the program.
Ukraine and European Civil Society Collaboration
Exchanges between Ukraine and other countries are also shaping the country’s economic development and civil society. On my last day in Kharkiv, I attended a roundtable on “Perspectives on the Gender Problem in Ukraine and Germany,” sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung German Foundation and the Kharkiv women’s organization Krona. Dr. Barbel Kofler (SDP) Chairman of the German Bundestag Germany-Ukraine Parliamentary Group, spoke about t
he situation for women in Germany and how the countries could build on each other’s experience. There was also comparison of sexist advertisements in Germany and Ukraine and discussion of how journalists treat the issue of gender in both countries. A woman finishing her PhD on comparative women’s movements in Ukraine and Switzerland also gave a presentation on international perceptions of the gender problem in Ukraine which was based on reports from international organizations and foreign women’s organizations.
The Ukrainian Women’s Consortium in Kiev also recently worked with the Dutch and Swiss Embassies to do comparative projects of women in Ukraine and Finland, and Ukraine and Switzerland which included reports as well as roundtables and individual exchanges.
Not all of these “exchanges” need to take place across borders. In Kharkiv, the leaders of the NGO Krona originally took empowerment classes offered in Ukraine and now offer similar courses to women in other areas of Ukraine. These classes have resulted in many women starting non-governmental organizations or becoming more involved in existing organizations.
One woman in Kharkiv told me the only challenge she sees remaining for women in Ukraine is for those women who do not feel free inside or believe that they have the potential to break down traditional stereotypes and become a voice for change. These exchanges seem to be incredibly empowering on both sides, and in my opinion, have made an impressive impact on individuals and communities in Ukraine.
Comments