We know that education has a critical role to play in the Ukrainian rebuilding plan. Human capital is the most valuable asset for the rise of individuals and nations.
The education Ukraine needs, should not just be be about acquiring relevant knowledge and skills, but also about developing soft competencies such as mindset and values. It is about empowering people to take responsibility with an entrepreneurial mindset that respects human rights and democracy. Fostering citizens who will take responsibility to co-create an inclusive and thriving nation together. Rebuilding needs change makers who can build a new, united and self-reliant Ukraine after the conflict.
Therefore, as part of the rebuilding, it is not enough to build state-of-art school buildings to replace the destroyed ones. What is needed too, is carefully plan What and How to teach in the new schools.
Education can offer a protective environment and safe haven, which is especially important to children affected by this tragic aggression. As the situation is new, a creative approach must be used in developing teaching and learning methods relevant to the local situation and people.
MovED response to the call from Zelenskiy
President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian educational authorities have asked Finland to participate in the rebuilding of Ukraine leveraging Finnish educational know-how. MovED is an NGO and movement (legally an association registered under the name Voices For Freedom) which was founded by co-founders from Ukraine and Finland to respond to this call in March 2023. The founders were ready to help Ukrainians by leveraging their competencies and personal relationships developed in co-operation programs related to education renewal since 2018 in Ukraine.
MovED is collective of professionals with a successful international track record mainly in education and business. With an agile startup mindset, MovED is a task force with the goal to quickly carry out several lean pilots in education and teacher training with an innovative as well as creative approach. As an independent player, MovED can act quickly and proactively.
Firstly, we will start by exploring the current situation in Ukraine to find out the exact nature of the challenges. It is not worth merely copying what works in another country, but we have to develop a mutual co-learning process to define local requirements and reality in Ukraine today to find out what solution is needed to bring real value.
Secondly, we will carry out a variety of educational pilots and research programs to learn together more about what works and what does not in the new reality. The outcome of our work will be knowledge, competencies, best practices and connections, which all can be used as an input for larger rebuilding programs by the government and other large organizations later. MovED’s first education pilots kick off in October 2023 with teacher training in Makariv county in Ukraine. We will also test the musical component of a new curriculum based on STEM and music.
MovED organization has large volunteer networks and low overhead costs. Despite being small and agile, we have existing personal connections with both the Finnish and Ukrainian governments, which are used to align our work with their plans. Our Advisory Board is a wonderful asset. Distinguished education professionals from the science community contribute with their unique insight, guidance and connections.
We bring together an ecosystem of diverse contributors from creative, tech and educational organisations and individuals. Our role is to be the bridge between those who want to work together to co-create value and ultimately change the perception on how educational impact can be achieved and charity can be done. We aim be a trailblazer; start quick, small and simple, fail forward and scale up quickly and efficiently.
We want to take responsibility and be part of the solution right now. The longer the aggression continues, the more important it is to act and offer hope.
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Action creates hope. Hope creates action.