OSCE Project Co-ordinator promotes eco-friendly secondary education in Ukraine

KYIV, 14 April 2010 - The Ukrainian version of a teacher's guide for environmental education in secondary schools was presented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator (PCU) in Kyiv today.

The Teacher's Guide is the first component of the Ukrainian version of a multi-media environmental education toolkit from the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC)- known as Green Pack - that is being developed with PCU assistance.

The OSCE PCU is co-operating with Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science and the REC to introduce environmental education in the secondary school system in Ukraine in line with the Concept of Environmental Education earlier adopted by the state.

"It is important to promote environment-friendly attitudes in the younger generation so they can positively contribute to Ukraine's environmental sustainability and security," said Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

The Teacher's Guide focuses on 22 topics related to promoting environment-friendly attitudes, environmental thinking and upholding the principles of sustainable development.

Volodymyr Verbytskyi, the Director of the National Environmental Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, said: "The principal mission of educators is to transform the potential of knowledge into conscious actions, and the Green Pack is a tool for that."

Since 2001, the Green Pack educational kit has been implemented in 14 countries in the OSCE region, including Bulgaria, Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia.

The PCU assisted with the adaptation of the educational kit for Ukraine and will now disseminate the Green Pack and organize training courses for schoolteachers on environmental education techniques.