Severodonetsk teachers took part in "Peacemaking in Ukraine: the role of women"
9-11 November in Kharkiv seminars on the program "Peacemaking in Ukraine: the role of women" took place, in which participated teachers of IAPM Severodonetsk Institute. Kharkiv invited colleagues from Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
The "Peacemaking in Ukraine: the role of women" is a series of seminars that take place with support of the UK Government. The organizer is the Ukrainian NGO Women's Union of Ukraine. Seminars are held from August 2015 to March 2016 in 16 regions of Ukraine.
The objectives of the seminar: Increasing and strengthening the role of women in peacekeeping in Ukraine; using the potential of women as a unifying factor for the Ukrainian society; opening new opportunities for peacemaking dialogue and reconciliation in Ukrainian society.
One of the most devastating effects of the current conflict is that it has divided communities and families throughout Ukraine. Understanding is the only possibility to overcome hatred and mistrust between the different elements of Ukrainian society. Women can help achieve this goal.
The purpose of workshops is to launch a dialogue between women from different regions of the country and create a platform where they can express their concerns, share their vision and substantively discuss urgent problems.
At the invitation of the Luhansk regional civil and military administration seven participants of different areas of the city were invited to the event, including teachers IAPM Severodonetsk Institute - Ph.D., Associate Professor A.I .Kozmenko and Deputy Director of Prospective Development T.O. Zhuk.
Participants discussed opportunities for women in the field of peacekeeping and specific projects just trying to hear and understand the different views on the causes of conflict and discussed ways to resolve it. Also, womenfolk paid great attention to exchange experiences on reconciliation in the country through the prism of family, as well as adaptation of migrants to new conditions.
Considerable emphasis women made on the impact of children on peace processes. "Today children have a great influence on parents. Children soften hearts and can be a joining element between the bridge between speakers of different views" - said O. Kozmenko
Deputy director Zhuk T.O with other participating groups presented the project "Dialogue platforms for families, who wait or have lost family members in the ATO".
Many thanks for moderator groups that created an atmosphere of sincerity and confidence, prompting participants to openness and dialogue.