Foundations for Freedom Newsletter Issue ENG 2016 by Foundations for Freedom

Dialogues on social cohesion

Contents

03 Dialogues on social cohesion in Ukraine in the framework of the UNDP by Lena Kashkariova 05 06

Communicating with empathy by Pavel Kozeletskyi Dialogues as a method for preventing violence and decreasing tension in conflict by Duke Duchscherer

08 Democracy’s front line – Ukraine by John Bond

12 2016: The Week of International Community in Caux celebrates 30 years! By Liubou Pranevich

From October 2015 to March 2016 the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the framework of the project Rapid Response to the Social and Economic Issues of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine realized a program on strengthening social cohesion. It was implemented with the engagement of the Network of Dialogue Facilitators, which emerged in 2014 due to the work of Foundations for Freedom INGO.

14 My dear rose by Olia Vasylets

Why social cohesion and what is it?

15 Miners’ Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine by Maria Voronchuk

When we talk about strengthening social cohesion – we talk about how to improve communication within one group. When we talk about reconciliation – it is about improvement of communication between different groups. At the moment there are no ‘stiff’ groups: groups are formed in a different way and according to chosen criteria (displaced – locals; holders of the pro-Ukrainian views – holders of the pro-Russian views; activists – representatives of the authorities; children – adults etc.). This is why the program was chosen to work with the communities on the strengthening of mutual understanding, searching of solutions to the current problems and common development of future vision and plan.

10 Documentaries for building bridges by Olha Shevchuk

16 Youth meets former political prisoners. The insider by Halyna Bunio

Foundations for Freedom Newsletter Issue # 52 We express our kind gratitude to the authors and photographers for their contribution to the Newsletter. Editors: Liubou Pranevich Oleksa Stasevych Angela Starovoytova

Contacts: Foundations for Freedom International Non-Governmental Organization

Proofreading: David Locke Elizabeth Locke

Registered in Ukraine e-mail: info@f-4-f.org www.f-4-f.org Facebook: foundationsforfreedom

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Dialogues on social cohesion in Ukraine in the framework of the UNDP

What exactly was done?

they wanted to initiate in their town. 50 events of very different format were selected and supported: dialogues, mediation, round tables, ‘living libraries’, theater performances, master classes, trainings, fairs, excursions, quests, strategic planning meetings, forum-theaters, children’s celebrations, exhibitions etc. Consideration was given that each community was at a different stage of mutual understanding and presence or absence of a conflict within. Thus the work was conducted differently for each community depending on the needs and demands. What are the results of the project? More than 3400 people altogether participated in the different events of the program. For some communities it was crucial to get assistance in solving specific situations. In Haleshchyna village of Poltava oblast a conflict broke out about electricity bills in the building allocated to the displaced people. Due to the mediation process a mutually recognized decision was found. For the majority of the communities the activities realized became a first step towards a common search for a desirable solution. In Dobropillia, Donetsk Oblast, after a series of trainings on the children of the displaced people and the integration and general activization of young people, currently master classes on cartoon production by children take place. In Kryva Luka village of Donetsk oblast the community puts common effort into developing an attractive village for tourists. In Melitopol after a strategic planning session the first step of the action plan was to organize ‘Tom Sower Festival’ where the community prepared the city park for the summer.

The first stage of the realization of the program on social cohesion was eight workshops conducted in the territories with the highest number of displaced people: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Poltava and Kyiv oblast. Formal and informal leaders of the hosting community and the displaced community were invited to participate in the workshops. During the four-day workshop there was a possibility to investigate the phenomenon of social cohesion and the existing tools to strengthen it. Each individual could suggest an initiative for their community.

Lena Kashkariova, expert of the Network of Dialogue Facilitators, Specialist in Reconciliation of the UNDP project Rapid Response to the Social and Economic Issues of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine.

The next stage was a selection of the participants’ proposals for the financial and expert support of the events

Photo: Lena Kashkariova, Dialogues on social cohesion, Ukraine, 2015

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International experience in resolving conflicts

Learning trust building practices from all over the world In the summer of 2015 some of the Network of Dialogue Facilitators’ members visited Caux, Initiatives of Change International Center in Switzerland, to share Ukrainian experience and to learn international peace building methods. ‘As a response to the extreme demand of dialogue facilitators in Ukraine, Foundations for Freedom INGO (F4F) developed the Network of Dialogue Facilitators (NDF)’, says Angela Starovoytova, F4F Executive Director and expert of the NDF (Ukraine). ‘In the framework of the F4F program ‘Ukrainian Action: Healing the past’ we conducted two levels of training for a group of facilitators from Ukraine in 2014. Duke Duchscherer from USA was invited as a trainer from the International Centre for Nonviolent Communication (ICNVC)’. ‘Last summer I joined several facilitators from the Network at the Initiatives of Change International (IofC) conference center in Caux, Switzerland’, says Duke Duchscherer, a certified trainer from the International Centre for Nonviolent Communication (USA), who works with the Network of Dialogue Facilitators in Ukraine. ‘Some attended the Peacebuilders Forum and some attended the conference on Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business. In each case facilitators were able to both share their deep experiences and learning from Ukraine as well as to gain new knowledge and skills to further enhance their work in Ukraine. In addition we took three days to deepen our learning of Nonviolent Communication and Restorative Circles as well as to plan future activities for the Network. It was a rich and meaningful experience for all’. ‘Our experts were introduced to the approach to dialogue facilitation and practices of reconciliation in different countries, where IofC works’, describes Angela of the group’s visit to Caux.

‘I am very impressed by the people I met in Caux’, says Pavel Kozeletskyi, an expert from the NDF (Ukraine). ‘There I learnt how many people and organizations in the world dedicate their time and energy to maintain peace. The great example is a ‘Sorry Day’ in Australia.

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People like John Bond had been working over decades to reach the result – when finally the reconciliation between aboriginal communities and Australians took place and the government also publicly said ‘sorry’ for the years of mistreatment of the ‘Stolen Generation’.

Communicating with empathy ‘Acting at the level of empathy is a characteristic of the work of a dialogue facilitator,’ says Pavel Kozeletskyi, Expert from the Network of Dialogue Facilitators, Ukraine. Series of dialogues in the East of Ukraine, 30 kilometers from the ATO zone, as well as dialogues on social cohesion were held by the team of experts of the Network from Dialogue Facilitators.

‘When I ask a question with empathy, I make a suggestion about the feelings of an interlocutor’, says the expert. ‘For example, ‘I suggest you felt anger that time?’, thus appealing to what a person felt or what he or she feels now, leaving a dialogue participant space for expressing his or her feelings. The main aim of this question is to understand a person, learn their situation, and their perception of the situation. A question with empathy differs from a regular question that supports an idea of a facilitator: ‘Did you feel anger? Was it because…’ making a suggestion about the situation and thus putting an interlocutor in the facilitator’s frame of perception. When building relations within a group this apparently insignificant nuance is very important for the development of a dialogue’.

Dialogues on social cohesion, Ukraine, 2015

Dialogue in the East of Ukraine, 2015

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Nonviolent communication as a tool for dialogue

Dialogue as a method for preventing violence and decreasing tension in conflict Duke Duchscherer, a certified trainer from the International Centre for Nonviolent Communication (USA), works with the Network of Dialogue Facilitators in Ukraine using methods of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Restorative Circles (RC). How did you become involved in the work of the Network of Dialogue Facilitators (NDF) in Ukraine? I originally became involved in Ukraine during Maidan when many of the participants had increasing concern that the conflict would turn violent. Some people involved in Maidan contacted me and one of my colleagues asking for support around preventing the violence. This began my work in Ukraine and eventually led to connection with the Network. I have been a part of a number of events in Ukraine joining my colleagues in the Network. These events began when I facilitated two 4-day NVC workshops held over a two-month period where approximately 25 facilitators and mediators from all over Ukraine participated. Following up this training I joined a number of the Network’s facilitators in hosting a series of dialogues in Donetsk oblast. This included very powerful dialogues between the Ukrainian Army and community leaders in Novohorodivska (15km from the ATO), and dialogue between community leaders and a paramilitary

group, and within a group of people supporting Ukrainian choice for Eastern Ukraine. Since these experiences the network of facilitators has gone on to facilitate dialogue all over the East as part of an OSCE Dialogue Initiative; and to support dialogue and social cohesion between Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the local communities into which they have dispersed as part of a UNDP program in eight regions of Ukraine. I am very amazed and proud of all work the Network of Facilitators has done in Ukraine to bring

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together people in conflict for very meaningful and substantial dialogues. Which methods were used while working with the groups in conflict? Ukrainian facilitators and mediators already had a high level of skill and experience; but with Maidan and the subsequent violent conflict in the East the intensity of dialogues between the various groups in conflict was greatly increased. The Network of Dialogue Facilitators was seeking support in the form of skills and experience in working with conflicts and creating spaces for dialogue that were powerful enough to hold the level of emotional intensity that war and violent conflict brings. Thus two main processes or approaches (and their accompanying skills) were shared

Dialogue in the East of Ukraine, 2015

with the Network of Facilitators: Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Restorative Circles (RC). Why are NVC and RC important to present-day Ukraine? Imagine being a soldier posted to and then walking through a town where when you pass someone you are not sure if they would like to shake your hand or shoot you. Conversely imagine living in that town all your life and now suddenly you have tanks rumbling through the town and heavily-armed, masked gunmen walking everywhere. Can you imagine the fear and misperceptions that would be present on both sides? Now imagine a dialogue taking place, and at the end of that dialogue the relationships are so transformed that armored vehicles no longer move through the town, soldiers do not carry weapons in the town, and all town events include special invitations to all the soldiers. This is what NVC and RC have done, and can do in Ukraine.

What is Nonviolent Communication and what are Restorative Circles? Nonviolent Communication (NVC): is a language of compassion, a spiritual practice, and a tool for social change. NVC strengthens our ability to respond compassionately to others and ourselves, and to inspire compassion from others. It guides us in transforming old, habitual patterns of relating with ourselves and others with new, compassionate ways of acting, expressing ourselves, and hearing others. www.cnvc.org The Restorative Circle (RC): this process offers ways for groups/ organizations, and communities to create community spaces for conflict that are safe and constructive. Developed by Dominic Barter RC enables people to choose a nonviolent response to conflict that involves the whole community in discovering their own sustainable strategies to learn from conflict by addressing immediate as well as underlying long-term causes. In other words the people who are most affected and have the most at stake are the ones who come up with the solutions to their problems; thus giving the Circle and its results validity and shared meaning. www.restorativecircles.org

Group of facilitators, dialogues on social cohesion, Ukraine, 2015

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Opinion

Ukraine Ukraine is in the midst of a struggle which is crucial for Europe. In November 2013, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took over the centre of Kiev and stayed there through the winter. Their rallying cry was, ‘We want European values’. By this they meant they wanted elections which reflected the will of the people rather than of oligarchs, courts which made their decisions on the basis of law rather than bribery, schools which educated rather than propagandised. For four months they withstood everything the regime threw at them, until the President accepted defeat and fled to Russia. Russia then invaded Crimea and supported rebellion in Eastern Ukraine, igniting a conflict from which 1.6 million people have fled, and which is still killing people every day. Despite the immense demands of defending their country, Ukraine is making progress towards establishing ‘European values’. But as Hanna Hopko told me and my colleague Ashley Muller last month, hard

though it is to overthrow a bad regime, it is harder to build a better one. Hanna is the Chair of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. She and her fellow reformers have developed numerous laws to fight corruption, and persuaded the Parliament to approve them. Thanks to this, and to the commitment of many people and organisations in and beyond Ukraine, new ways are being implemented. But entrenched interests are fighting back, and there is still far to go. Hanna devotes much of her time to helping communities discover effective ways to support reform. She was one of those who inspired the Switch On community movement which is now tackling corruption in a number of cities. Also supporting reform is the Foundations for Freedom network, which grew out of a course developed by a British architect, Eric Andren, and colleagues from

Photo: by Ashley Muller ‘Members of the Foundations for Freedom network with John Bond in Kiev, (l to r) Oleksa Stasevych, John Bond, Kostiantyn Ploskyi, Vladyslava Kanevska, Angela Starovoytova.’

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Initiatives of Change (IofC) at the time when Eastern Europe opened its doors to the world after the fall of the Berlin wall. The 10-day course explored the moral and spiritual roots of democracy, and the role of individual responsibility. In Ukraine they are contributing to the well-being of the country in many ways. Some are developing parliamentary legislation. Others have held seminars on ethical governance, and a ‘school of good governance’ has just been launched in Kiev. Others are caring for the refugees that have fled Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Many are taking part in a widespread program of dialogue between Ukrainians of differing backgrounds, which started when two young women, one from -Southern Ukraine, the other from Western Ukraine, met in an IofC program in India. Each understood their national history differently, which led to conflict between them, then gradually to understanding and apology. When they returned home, they launched ‘Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past’, which over the last six years has enlisted several hundred Ukrainians in building understanding across the deep divisions of their country, particularly through dialogue. In recent months, dialogues have been held in many regions, some of them close to the separation border in Eastern Ukraine. This is crucial work, and not just for Ukraine. Throughout Europe, thanks to economic crisis and large-scale migration, democracy is under strain. And this is especially true of Eastern Europe, where democracy is a tender plant. If democracy fails in Ukraine, other countries will follow suit. Divisions between East Ukrainians and the rest of the country destabilize Ukraine. The more this

The course helped many Eastern Europeans to discover how they could help develop just and democratic governance. In all about 3,000 participated. Many then came to IofC conferences at Caux in Switzerland, Asia Plateau in India and elsewhere. They have encouraged the next generation to discover what Initiatives of Change has to offer, and today East Europeans are playing a prominent role in its work across the world.

division is healed, the more able will Ukraine be to defend itself. The more corruption is overcome, the more justice and democracy will thrive. Initiatives of Change offers its international support in this task. Each year many Ukrainians contribute to conferences at Caux and Asia Plateau; and speakers from Caux and Asia Plateau contribute to forums in Ukraine. This results in much cross-fertilisation of ideas and experience. This needs to continue and grow, for the sake of Europe as a whole. John Bond, a co-convenor of the Caux conference on Just Governance for Human Security.

Photo: by John Bond ‘Anton Iemelianov, a journalist who reported from the front line during Ukraine’s Maidan revolution, shows Ashley Muller a memorial to one of the 67 people killed by snipers in February 2014.’

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Documentaries for building bridges

‘Why do people start wars, why is IT that they cannot agree? ’ I have always been interested in dialogue. As a child I asked my mother: ‘Why do people start wars, why is it that they cannot agree? ’ My fate brought me to the Foundations for Freedom that helped me to discover the answer to the question. Over last year I participated in the three projects that were connected to the dialogue in its different shapes. My task was to shoot video material at different stages, to interview participants and to compose short videos about each project. Over a year we have created seven videos about the activities of Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past Program.

The first trip was to the East of Ukraine. I remember how scary it was to go there, because the place where the meeting took place was 30 km from the combat zone (ATO). On arrival all fears dispelled, and this enabled me to show then in the produced video, what happened during the dia-

logue. I heard there such sincere words, such simple desires: peace and harmony. There are ordinary people who live there, who want to feel safe. My stereotypes were broken and a wish to understand them appeared instead. And there, in the East, I saw how the method of nonviolent communica-

tion works addressing really important issues in the situation where the conflict shifted over the line of a peaceful settlement. It was obvious that the participants’ fears slowly subsided and a vision emerged that all conflicts have a solution. Eventually, I also learned how to use this method of dialogue in the family, at work; and it helped a lot because the time previously spent for conflict, I could use to solve it.

Olha Shevchuk, meeting in Poland, 2015

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The project ‘Future needs memories: Ukrainian dialogue on history and memories’ lasted for three months during which the participants realized 13 initiatives. At first it was unusual for me, as I have always separated topics of history and dialogue, and then suddenly

they united. Suddenly it became clear that there is a lot to talk about! History turns out to be a powerful tool for dialogue ... I had not even realized this. Our German colleagues, who have been working on the topic for a long time, shared their experience. Historical memory is a very subtle subject, but it is possible to work with it to avoid such mistakes and conflicts in the future.

In autumn 2015 I visited the memorial in Auschwitz, Poland together with the participants of the youth project ‘History Begins in the Family’. It was the most shocking tour in my life: so much information including the extent of the tragedy – I could not find an answer in myself, why it had happened ... It was very hard. Observing the participants – young people from Ukraine, Poland and Germany, it was evident that they were confused and probably scared. World War II was a terrible happening. Some participants told us that their grandparents or one of their relatives was also there. At last they saw how it was there and how strong a person could be to survive all that. I was watching them and discovering how they were growing. I was very glad to witness such changes in their lives. During the interview some of them shared such things that tears appeared in my eyes; others talked about their plans and inspiration

Meeting former prisoners in Poland, Oświęcim (Auschwitz), October 2015

from the project. The title of the project was rightly chosen. It enabled the participants to understand who they were, where they came from and why they perceived the world in a certain way. They got acquainted with the culture of other countries where they integrated and neither borders nor language barriers prevented them from being in tune with the dia-

All the projects that I joined to assist with videos showed me that improvements occur every day, but it is important here to learn how to act in difficult situations in the present or in the past. There were a lot of techniques, exercises and presentations of experience. To my mind, it is important for society to have someone who can help, who can teach dialogue and push for change; it is important that they care. And this people exist.

logue. Dialogue took place here between participants and their families, between history and modern times. I express my gratitude to everyone who was with me during these projects, as well as to the Fritz Phillips Fund – without its support I would not be engaged in the program. You are doing noble work, and I am very inspired. Cooperation with the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past program gave me a lot of new knowledge, expertise, experience, and impressions; I improved my skills in working with video reports and I want to continue this activity further showing people what happens at projects like this. Olha Shevchuk, filmmaker of the projects of the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past Program, Foundations for Freedom INGO

The videos related to the projects of the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past Program: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCiJeWTG8115B_1iNuxegeOA

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Community building through practical service

2016: The Week of

International Community in

Caux celebrates 30 years! In 1986 the first Week of International Community (WIC) in Caux was held to prepare Mountain House for the upcoming conferences and to connect people through service. Since 1946 Caux, a conference center of the Initiatives of Change International (IofC), gathers over 1300 participants from all over the world for the international conferences held during the summer. With a new program designed by Foundations for Freedom (F4F) in 2013 the WIC got a new form.

Today about 40 people with connections to IofC and F4F are invited with their parents or families for the WIC. They are introduced to IofC with a focus on community service. Apart from this there is organized space for sharing personal stories, trust building exercises as well as cultural variety evening, sightseeing, screenings of IofC films etc. ‘In the beginning the purpose was to bring young Europeans to Caux, who would not necessarily come for a conference but find it easier to come for a working time,’ says Ulrike Keller, a co-organizer of the WIC in Caux. ‘Young people could meet people from the other countries during practical work. Many of them aged 18 - 22 came from Germany. They were

mostly school pupils and university students’. Thus young people also learnt about IofC. In 1986 Eliane Stallybrass had the idea and the first WIC was held. It took place during Easter holidays. ‘At that time there was an international community of about 30 people living in Villa Maria all year round. The following years people started coming from the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, France,

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Belgium, Sweden, Italy,’ says Ulrike. ‘At one point we were 180 people and it has always been international’. Over 30 years now Ulrike’s husband Christoph has been responsible for the practical part of the work – repairing, painting, gardening etc. Ulrike attended the WIC every year since then. ‘I myself have never missed one, taking on this or that’, she says. In 1996 the WIC shifted to June, with a short time for preparation before the summer conferences. ‘The shape of WIC changed over the years acting in ways that go with the times’, describes Ulrike of the progress. ‘After the fall of the Berlin Wall people from Eastern European countries could join.

Since the beginning the international center has positioned itself as ‘Home for the World’. Processes of reconciliation, dialogue and peace building between individuals and such countries as Germany and France took place here. Those attending WIC also gave their indirect input into building peace in Europe and in the world.

The Week of International Community, participants from Eastern Europe

Over several years I have heard from young people that it is difficult to explain to their parents what they are doing with F4F and why they are going to Caux. In 2011 I introduced the idea: ‘How would it be if your parents could

visit Fribourg during cultural program, June 2015

come to Caux and find out in a very pratical way, what IofC and Caux are all about?’ Angela Starovoytova (Ukraine), Diana Damsa (Romania) and later Anastasiya

Maksimova (Ukraine) took on the idea and worked out a program. Next year, in 2013, it started in a new form’. Liubou Pranevich

The Week of International Community, Caux, June 2014

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History begins in the family…

Healing the past

My dear rose Foundations for Freedom INGO, the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim/Auschwitz and Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation/BergenBelsen Memorial in co-operation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation realized the international project ‘History begins in the family…’

‘The end of mine is not the end: The end is someone’s beginning.’ Volodymyr Vysotskyi Occasionally there are some special evenings, when your granny wants to have just a small talk with you, which turn out to last the whole evening. Then she asks you to open old photograph albums. Granny also wants you to pick her favorite flower even if it is still the middle of autumn. ‘My sister loved these roses,’ she reminds me again. Having heard something interesting, 10-year-old granny’s great grandson decided to join us. Although he did not fully understand everything, he was looking at pictures with great interest. He could recognize only a few people, and my gran-

ny couldn’t identify everyone. I had to help both of them. That evening we saw several photograph albums. When my granny was looking at photos of her children (when they were small), and she suddenly saw the portrait of herself being young, or found some photos of her husband, sister or friends, her hands started shaking and there were tears in her eyes. But at the same time a slow bright smile spread across her face. Exactly the same as she wore in the photos, which had been taken 50 years ago. Granny was keeping silent. She was just looking at photos. It seemed she was doing it mechanically, not even looking at them. She was thinking of something. Being afraid of interrupting this process, I was looking at every picture. On the reverse of the majority of them there were different inscriptions: ‘for darling sister’,

‘for a friend’... It would definitely be possible to make a map from them. The photo-wishes had been sent from every corner of the world. All the photos were special. The majority of them had been posed, while the tiny minority were taken spontaneously. Nevertheless, every photo was full of power, fondness and respect. Some of them were carefully framed with lace. There were not any coloured photos. But the colour was hardly needed to express all feelings. It was enough to look at the faces. In spite of anything that might have happened in their lives, the people in the photos were smiling. Maybe they had known something deep inside… And now in a way they support us, making us never give up and always go ahead. Three different generations were sitting around the table with loads of photos. They meant different things to everyone. For me they were part of reality. For little Mykhas they were an imaginary story, for Granny – her entire life. Olia Vasylets, a participant of the History begins in the family project, Pishchanka settlement, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, Ukraine. More about the project http://www.iofc.org/uahtp-history-

The History begins in the family project, Ukraine, March 2016

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begins-in-the-family-project-en

Miners` Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine Foundations for Freedom INGO and Our Future NGO launched the Miners’ Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine project.

We have chosen the topic Miners’ Stories because it is very important in our country, particularly in the East – most of the residents in the east region are employed in heavy and coal industries. Ukrainian society has not been well informed about miners’ lives, and through this project we want to draw people’s attention to their labor and the industrial culture as it is; to debunk the stereotypic attitude towards them. By this we want to compare and to create a possibility for dialogue between East and West Ukraine, as there are also mines in the Lviv and Volyn regions, though not as many as at Donbas; but the miners that are working there are similar. They have the same problems as the ones in the East. We also aim at inquiring into the miners’ identity and the influence of the surrounding population in the life of the coal towns. Closure of the mines and the impact this has on the community is another problem that we want to emphasize, because in the majority of the miners’ towns and villages there is no alternative. The towns are built around mines and for mines. Is there a future here? We want to ask the miners and others around there how they see the future of their cities, considering the difficult situation in the country and the current conflict in the East. Our project has a more cultural and social meaning. Collecting stories of the

miners’ families will help to capture their real life and spread knowledge of this amongst the Ukrainians. The project can be divided into two stages – collection of the oral stories by volunteers from the miners’ regions and the second stage is shooting a documentary based on several stories. The film will be screened for a wider audience both in the West and East regions aiming at building dialogue. The topic is very broad and we would like to continue working in this direction after the project is finished, probably through research and with engagement of international experience. The project is implemented by the Foundations for Freedom INGO in partnership with Our Future NGO and the Independent Trade Union of Coal Miners of Ukraine within the framework of Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past Program under the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine and Irene Prestwich Trust (UK). Maria Voronchuk, co-coordinator of the project the Miners’ Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine, Our Future NGO The Miners’ Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine project: http://www.iofc.org/uk/shakhtarski-istoriyi-zi-skhodu-ta-zakhodu-ukrayiny_ukr

The Miners’ Stories from Eastern and Western Ukraine project, May 2016

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Future needs memories

Youth meets former political prisoners. The insider Is a dialogue possible when you have two generations with almost a century setting them apart? What do they have in common? What is different? Are they able to hear and understand each other? In search for answers to these questions I decided to host this event. On Monday, November 23, 2015, Lviv welcomed students and former political prisoners of the Soviet and Nazi totalitarian regimes. The event called ‘Memories of the Totalitarian Past: Youth Meets Political Prisoners’ was co-organized by the Foundations for Freedom INGO / the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past program and the Territory of Terror Memorial Museum as part of the ‘Future needs memories: Ukrainian dialogue on history and memories’ project. Ten students from different Ukrainian academic institutions and five former political prisoners residing in Lviv, namely Yaroslava Melnychuk (born in 1929), Stepan Horechyi (born in 1929), Hanna Ivanytska (born in 1925), Onufriy Dudok (born in 1926), and Iryna Shul (born in

me and Liudmyla Levcheniuk at the ‘Different Memories – Common Future!’ workshop, hosted by our German friends from OWEN in Lviv in late September 2015. We decided to create a space for mutual understanding between youth and people who lived through the times when an attempt to fulfill your dreams for a decent future, a simple desire to be true to yourself and live with dignity, could lead to imprisonment and torture. We aimed at creating a

1918) took part in the meeting. The meeting was truly unique as we managed to gather people of different age groups, the gap sometimes going up to 80 years. Another highlight of the event For our program it was the first experience was its format: in a of the intergenerational dialogue with such setup of a meeting a huge gap in the age of the participants. It both older and young- was a kind of experiment, because it was hard er participants had to predict the dynamics of the group. I think the chance to try out it totally paid off, because we have seen the the roles of the nar- goals we set being achieved. Transferring life rator and the listener. experience across the century-long generation It allowed for two-way gap is possible in this format provided certain exchange of experi- levels of flexibility and sensitivity are secured. ences, while working in small groups provided feedback as well as more safe space in which former politipersonal, profound, and immedical prisoners could be heard and ate communication with the witcould get rid of the burden of their nesses of the times. difficult pasts as well as the stereoThe idea of this event dawned on types and needless generalizations of today’s youth and regions they come from. Students who joined the event came from different regions of Ukraine: Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Donetsk; and even Zabaykalsky Krai, Russian Federation. We wanted to give young people the opportunity to either confirm or get rid of the ideas about people of this respected age, to see the past through the eyes of the witnesses’ memories, to understand what motivated them, their footholds in tough times, and to

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come up with new conclusions. While waiting for the former political prisoners, students had the opportunity to help prepare the dialogue room. This is how they started learning about the methodology of conducting dialogues. We used a couple of dialogue techniques including the Maps and History Timeline. Maps illustrated participants’ life paths, while history timelines showed a wide range of historical events preserved in the communicative and individual memories of the dialogue participants. The following events were mentioned by the participants: the Ukrainian-Polish war in Galicia 1918-1919, Holodomor in Ukraine 1921-1923, Ukrainian Secret University in Lviv 19211925, the events of World War II, the ‘Barrel’ Provocative Action in 1948, the Norilsk Uprising in 1953, Lviv town’s meeting in 1988, the Orange Revolution (Maidan 2004), Revolution of Dignity (Maidan 2014), namely in Zaporizhzhia, and war in the East of Ukraine, namely, occupation of Sloviansk, etc. Our younger participants shared that they managed to draw parallels between the past and the present. Former political prisoners surprised them by inner youthfulness, optimism, and good sense of humor, by talents in reciting and creative writing, by their stories of love in the time of persecutions and imprisonments, by their own rare family memories about the inter-war period, about inhuman abuse in prisons, concentration camps, and madhouses, and about what helped them to survive. Dialogue participants had the opportunity to reflect again on the values of life and inner freedom, taking responsibility for themselves and others, the importance of empathy and seemingly easy ability to listen and hear. At the same time, our older participants were so touched by the students’ attentiveness, curiosity, alertness, desire and willingness to learn and share their own experience, that some of them invited

the younger participants home for coffee in order to continue communication. Of course, there were moments when some of our younger and older participants disagreed, particularly, concerning the issue of inter-ethnic marriages and wording for the names of some historical events. However, eventually this served as an opportunity to test and practice their ability to listen in order to understand instead of to agree or disagree. I would like to express my gratitude to the Territory of Terror Memorial Museum, namely Liudmyla Levcheniuk, for cooperation, as well as Oleksa Stasevych (the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past program manager),

Olha Shevchuk (camerawoman of the Foundations for Freedom INGO), our German partners Andrea Zemskov-Züge and Dana Jirous from OWEN e.V. – Mobile Academy for Gender Democracy and Peace Development, as well as Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (Germany) for their support. Halyna Bunio, dialogue’s coordinator on behalf of the Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past program / Foundation for Freedom INGO. Pictures and video: http://www.iofc. org/youth-meets-former-politicalprisoners-the-insider_eng

Вестник «Основ Свободы» • 2013 • 17 Newsletter of Foundations for Freedom • 2016 • 17

Future needs memories

18 18 • Вестник «Основ Свободы» •for 2013 • Newsletter of Foundations Freedom • 2016

Future needs memories

Вестник «Основ Свободы» • 2013 • 19 Newsletter of Foundations for Freedom • 2016 • 19

Foundations for Freedom International Non-Governmental Organization Registered in Ukraine Vision There is an interesting theory: when 10% of population change, the remaining 90% become different as well. Should we wait until a leader changes things for the better or should we start with ourselves?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Be the change you want to see in the world!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mahatma Gandhi

Mission Foundations for Freedom aims to foster the development of truly free, democratic and just society, where people live in commitment to the values where freedom thrives, in particular honesty and personal responsibility. Areas of activity - Supporting the development of responsible leadership. - Enhancing social involvement of youth. - Initiating and supporting public dialogues. - Developing mutual understanding and cooperation between various ethnic and social groups. - Establishing honest and transparent relations between citizens and governmental structures. What we do - Reconciliation projects, public dialogues, trust-building activities. - Offering access to international networks and experience exchange programs. - Leading round-tables, forums and conferences. - Leading various training and educational programs. www.f-4-f.org