Please sign up for the breakfast by 24 October 

In the course of this year, Ukraine has astonished the world with its brave fight against the aggressor. Europe has shown unprecedented unity in its solidarity with this battle. Now, more than six months into the war, many have begun to realize that while military support, sanctions, and humanitarian response are important in helping Ukraine win its struggle for independence, it is also vital to protect and uphold the democratic progress the country has achieved since 1991. Education will play a key role in Ukraine’s recovery and in the future of its democracy.   

Norway has made great strides in helping to re-establish and safeguard the access to education for Ukrainian children – those who stayed in Ukraine and those who came here. To shed light on these efforts and processes, we are gathering in Oslo on 25 October 2022 to answer the following questions?

• How is Norway’s help received in Ukraine and distributed on the ground?  
• What works efficiently in this process, and what can be improved?  
• How does the Norwegian education system integrate Ukrainian refugee children?  
• How can we best equip young Ukrainians for their return home after the war?    

Educated children who build their lives in Ukraine will constitute the backbone of the country’s future as a modern European democracy. Ukraine cannot afford to lose this generation. 

Program:

Welcome word by Sindre Lysø, State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Education

Introductory speech: Situation in Education in Ukraine, Vira Rohova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine

Panel discussion 1: How can Norway better  support education in Ukraine?

• Nils-Ole Foshaug, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Norwegian Parliament
• Anna Novosad, co-founder of Charity Fund SavED, Ukraine
• Oleksandr Tretyak, City Mayor of Rivne, Ukraine
• Nataliya Yeremeyeva, advisor, the European Wergeland Centre

Moderated by Ana Perona Fjeldstad, Executive Director of the European Wergeland Centre

Panel discussion 2: How can we better support  Ukrainian school children in Norway?

• Knut Christian Clausen, school head  of Flora school (Vestland), online
• Oksana Kovalenko, Chief Specialist of the De[1]partment for School and Pre-School Education, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
• Nataliya Lutsyk, teacher of Norwegian for  Ukrainian refugees at the Blue Cross Drammen,  head of Ukrainian Community in Norway

Moderated by Iryna Sabor, Head of Early Childhood and School Section, the European Wergeland Centre