Ukraine

International seminar and annual coordination meeting, devoted to the SPARE development in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia took place 27-29 of May in Ukraine. Participants discussed development of educational materials for schoolchildren, domestic practical project on renewable energy and energy efficiency, NGO capacity building and involvement to national energy policy.

On January 20, 2011 a methodological workshop took place for lecturers of «Energy saving and climate change mitigation» school course in Lviv. Trainers from «Eremurus-Ukraine» Environmental Club told the teachers about different forms and methods that are useful in working with children.

Mirgorod is another Ukrainian city where the decision to introduce in schools a new subject «Energy saving» was made. Therefore on August 19 barely coming out of the holidays, teachers of Mirgorod sat at their desks to prepare for teaching the new subject. It was the first of two planned methodological training which take place within the project «Organization of energy saving in Mirgorod schools».

On May 28th to 31st an international semonar on the development of the SPARE project took place in Minsk. An important theme of the workshop was the integration of SPARE project into the state education systems in the participants’ countries, as well as practical solutions for energy saving. Participants visited a straw house and a multistory house that was built with energy-saving technologies and was recommended as a model for construction in Belarus.

A methodical training "Education as a means of attracting children to the problem of energy saving" was held for a group of teachers on May 11. The training was attended by 23 teachers from different town schools. The new textbook "Energy saving and climate change mitigation" was presented. The teachers got acquainted with the basic forms and methods of teaching the course. The participants received manuals and sets of information and learning materials that will contribute to a higher level of teaching the subject.

Environmental action “Earth Hour” took place all over the world on March 27th. Environmental center of the City Palace of Youth and Children was the Earth Hour action coordinator in Rivne. Schoolchildren held a big campaign with the goal to remind townspeople that electricity and nature resources should be saved.

An inventive and technical activity, an invention of Ukrainian pupils, namely in energy saving and energy efficiency field, require a serious support at state level first of all and on the part of domestic producers, research centers, says Natalia Sokolovska, a member of the jury for the final round of the International Competition on Youth Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency Projects ‘Energy and Environment’, chief adviser at the Verkhovna Rada Special Control Commission for Privatization, according to UKRINFORM correspondent.

The final round of the International Competition on Youth Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency Projects was held in Kyiv at the National Environmental and Naturalistic Youth Center of Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science. The works of the winners from Ukraine will be presented this spring in the final contest in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

Norges Naturvernforbund/Friends of the Earth Norway has for several years cooperated with NGO partners in EECCA region on education, practical projects and policy development around energy and climate issues. We have now got the possibility to invite most of our NGO cooperation partners to Oslo, and on the 3rd of June we use the opportunity to arrange a conference on energy and climate in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA-region).

Novograd-Volynskiy (Zhytomyr Region), Dolyna (Ivano-Frankivsk Region), 26-27 February: SPARE-Ukraine has conducted two workshops in cooperation with UNDP-led Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme in its partner municipalities of Novograd-Volynskiy and Dolyna. Over 50 local teachers participated in the workshops and learned how to educate secondary school students on energy-saving.

On February 16-17, 2009 in the Small Academy of Science’s National Environmental Naturalistic Center for Schoolchildren the IV Ukrainian Final Round of the International Youth Contest for energy effective projects “ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT” will take place. The Contest’s slogan is: “We can reduce the greenhouse gas emission”. The Contest’s results will be announced in the Kyoto Protocol’s anniversary day. The Contest aims to engage talented Ukrainian schoolchildren, students and teachers in scientific and practical activities related to energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.

Some 45 schools teachers participated at the seminar of different specialities, as well as the representatives of the schools administration. The seminar was carried out by the national coordinator of project SPARE in Ukraine with the organizational support of the Sevastopol Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Participants in the seminar were introduced to the various forms and methods of the training work with the children on the energy saving and development.

SPARE coordinators from 11 countries have in the end of April been gathered for international SPARE meeting in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The coordinators have been discussing results and development of educational and practical energy activities. The activity of SPARE is higher than ever, with 3 000 schools and 150 000 pupils participating in the project during the educational year 2007-2008.