WEST UKRAINIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

 West Ukrainian National University hosted the closing ceremony for the educational project ‘English for War Veterans and Their Families’, which was attended by demobilised war veterans and their family members, family members of fallen (deceased) war veterans, and family members of fallen (deceased) defenders of Ukraine, all of whom reside in the city of Ternopil or the Ternopil region.

This project is being implemented by WUNU with the support of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Department for Veterans’ Policy of the Ternopil Regional State Administration, the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil region, the social welfare departments of the Ternopil region, as well as civil society organisations and veterans’ associations in our region, with the aim of enhancing the professional qualifications and facilitating the social reintegration of demobilised war veterans, their family members, the family members of deceased war veterans, and the family members of deceased defenders of Ukraine.

The training course was organised by the Education and Research Centre for the Study of Foreign Languages of WUNU in Ternopil and Kremenets.

The event began with the Ukrainian national anthem and the ceremonial presentation of the Ukrainian national flag. Those present observed a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

The ceremony began with a welcome address by Father Roman Zahorodnyi, who led a prayer for all the defenders of Ukraine.

Nataliia Masnyk, Deputy Head of the Ternopil Regional State Administration, addressed all the guests with a welcoming speech: “Dear veterans, spouses and parents! This course has not only given you the opportunity to gain new knowledge, it is an important step towards a smooth transition back to civilian life. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Oksana Desyatnyuk, the rector of West Ukrainian National University, for supporting this important initiative. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the implementation of this project for your perseverance, openness to new ideas and desire to develop. It is thanks to people like you that Ukraine is growing stronger every day.”

The participants were also welcomed by Uliana Koruts, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Research of WUNU, who conveyed warm wishes to all those present from the rector of WUNU, professor Oksana Desyatnyuk, and emphasised that West Ukrainian National University will always support the implementation of social projects for the professional retraining and further professional development of Ukraine’s defenders: ‘Every day, we live with the awareness of our debt to those who gave their lives for each and every one of us. That is precisely why we have no room for error — we must faithfully perform our duty in the areas where we can be of service. Thanks to the efforts of the staff of the Education and Research Centre for the Study of Foreign Languages, we have the opportunity to complete one of the courses, which will serve as a foundation for further study of the English language. After all, today English enables each of you to become the voice of Ukraine in the world, the voice of our people’s strength and resilience. I sincerely thank everyone who has joined this project. You have found the strength within yourselves to move forward, and your inner motivation inspires us to become better and to develop.”

Yurii Tyvoniuk, Deputy Head of the Human Resources Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil Region, Tetiana Duda, Head of the Department for Veterans’ Policy at the Ternopil Regional State Administration; Father Roman Zahorodniy, Director of the Ternopil Charitable Foundation ‘Caritas’; Liubov Stupinska, Head of the Department for Work with War Veterans and Other Privileged Categories at the Social Policy Department of the Ternopil City Council; Vasyl Bobiv, Head of the Department for Veterans’ Policy at the Ternopil Regional State Administration; Kateryna Kalitka, Head of the Department for Veterans’ Policy at the Kremenets District State Administration; Liubov Morozko, Head of the Department for Social Protection of the Population at the Chortkiv District State Administration; Ruslan Pelekhatyi, Chair of the NGO ‘Unbreakable in Spirit’ at the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil Region; Ruslan Babiak, Director of the municipal institution ‘Centre for Support of Veterans and Families of Heroes of the Ternopil City Council’; Viktor Shturma, board member of the NGO “Union of Veterans and Persons with Disabilities Resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian War in the Kremenets Region”, and Mykola Mykuliak, chair of the NGO “Veteran Fisherman” all conveyed their best wishes and words of support.

Professor Denys Chyk shared his experience of mentoring within this educational initiative on behalf of the entire academic staff of the Centre. He emphasised that, when combined with a professional focus and psychological sensitivity to the needs of the target audience, ‘English for War Veterans and Their Families’ became an effective tool not only for linguistic but also for personal development of our defenders and their families.

Yuliia Bryhynets, wife of a veteran, addressed those present with words of gratitude on behalf of all participants in the educational initiative: “On behalf of the veterans and their families, we would like to express our sincere thanks to West Ukrainian National University and the local authorities for the opportunity to learn English. Special thanks go to the teachers for their professional expertise, friendly attitude and support at every step. We wish the WUNU team creative inspiration and success in continuing to implement such important initiatives.”

A video was also shown about the implementation of the educational project ‘English for War Veterans and Their Families’, in which students and lecturers from the Education and Research Centre for the Study of Foreign Languages shared their impressions and thoughts on the learning process.

All graduates of the training course were presented with certificates attesting to their level of English proficiency in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, along with commemorative gifts from the project organisers.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Olha Luzhetska, Director of the Education and Research Centre for the Study of Foreign Languages, expressed her sincere gratitude to all participants of the educational initiative ‘English for War Veterans and Their Families’, first and foremost to the war veterans for defending the Ukrainian land, as well as to their families, the teaching staff of the Centre, the relevant state authorities, the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil region, the Ternopil Charitable Foundation ‘Caritas’, as well as civil society organisations and veterans’ associations for their active civic engagement and support in implementing state social programmes within our region.

The guests were treated to a musical performance by Iryna Sheheda and Anastasia Haleshchuk from the Office of Fine Arts and Personal Development of WUNU (under the direction of Svitlana Sorochynska). The event was hosted by Yurii Dziula.

Dear project graduates! We are truly delighted that your time studying with us has been a period of engaging and productive work. We hope that this course has enabled each of you to significantly deepen your knowledge, improve your language skills and broaden your opportunities for further education and a successful career. We believe that our project has helped you find the inner strength you need and has served as a reliable support during these challenging times. Thank you for your enthusiasm, perseverance and trust in our university. We wish you confidence in your own abilities and new achievements!

We believe that Ukraine will prevail! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!