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Kateryna Yushchenko’s Speech at the Upbringing of the Future: Values, Goals, and Technologies Scholarly Conference

My dear friends,

I welcome you to Artek, to this well-known picturesque corner of Crimea

For decades young leaders and talented youth from many countries of the world were educated here

And today we have gathered leaders of social and pedagogical thought, representatives of government and community organizations

Today I address you first as the wife of a President who has and continues to do a great deal for the Ukrainian educational system to meet the highest educational standards and become an integral part of world education

Along with his warmest greetings the President has asked me to convey that he places great hopes on you, your talents, experience, and vision

Today I also address you as the Head of the Ukraine 3000 Foundation which is intended to unite the efforts of communities and the state to implement educational reform

 This year we wish to concentrate on the problems of contemporary and future education.

Today the world is changing quickly and the existing system of education does not always respond to the needs of children, their parents, the state and to those challenges which the world now places before children

Not long ago I visited a school in the village of Litky in Kyiv 0blast where my mother was born.

I saw a well kept but old school with outdoor toilets that children were forced to use even in winter
I met wonderful teachers who teach children national traditions, but cannot teach them computer skills because of the lack of modern computers at their school

I met children eager to learn but who do not have access to modern libraries, internet or other resources necessary for modern education

I also address you today as a mother of five children, like any mother I am concerned about the issue of quality and content of my children’s education

Present today are the world finest representatives of pedagogical thought. You have a tremendous influence on the formation of a persons’ character, on his or her  values, world view, and choice of life’s path

 In the this hall are gathered almost 2000 years of the best pedagogical experience – children, parents and the whole country look to us with hope. I also place great hopes on you.

We parents and teachers are partners in the process of bringing up and creating people.
I expect that together we will be able to answer the question – what should education be for our  children?

We know what we would like to expect from a young person graduating from the educational system.

We know that together we should bring up moral, spiritual and patriotic individuals. Individuals adapted to the contemporary world with all the skills of  success – a work ethic, responsibility, tolerance, ability to communicate, ability to set goals and achieve them and the ability to educate oneself

A person open to the others and the world who understands his or her place in the world

An individual who is able to create a happy family, the foundation of any successful and civilized society

I would also like to spend some time on the issue of morality. Unfortunately today we witness the decline of social morality
I would like to present you with some telling facts

Almost 17 % of children in school smoke.

6 out of 10 HIV infected  people in Ukraine are under 30.

According to sociological studies, 1/3 of teenagers aged from 14 to 15 years engage regularly in sex
 Particularly disturbing is the problem of narcotics among children and teenagers

Youth is especially vulnerable to drugs

According to statistics 10% children in school use drugs

One of the most painful problems  of the society is alcohol

It is particularly disturbing that the use of alcohol begins early

40% of boys and 26% of girls under 10 years of age have tried alcohol

By the time they are 13 the number rises to 75%

Last week my colleagues and I visited the Zhytomyr Children’s Hospital, a partner in our  hospital to hospital program

In the new born intensive care unit we saw a small baby in an incubator who had a difficult medical condition which was a result of a mother-alcoholic

This little girl needs difficult surgery to give her a chance for life. Doctors and nurses are fighting for her life. There is only one person who does not care for her – her own mother – whose alcoholism destroyed any maternal instincts

So many problems that we faced today  - new born and children’s illness, orphans, homelessness, family violence, unemployment are the result of alcoholism
In order to address these problems we need to unite the efforts of families, schools, churches and youth organizations

Therefore, one of the main challenges of education is nurturing spirituality, values and morality

Over the last decades leading contemporary educators have designed models and methodologies which are worthy of bringing into the future, adapting them to today’s needs

It is important to preserve, update and continue the best traditions of Ukrainian and Soviet pedagogy, Millions of talented scholars, champions and successful people were brought up under the system

Ukrainian students traditionally demonstrated excellent results at international competitions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, ecology and cybernetics

Over the last 13 years 357 Ukrainian students won almost three hundred medals at international intellectual competitions

 I would also like to touch on more aspect of education-- economic

Experts contend that in the near future competition among nations will become competition among their educational systems

In today’s world knowledge has become the most important economic resource and the most developed countries progress as a result of intellectual capital and technology transfer

This makes education a strategic priority in the development of any nation

Together we will do all we can for our children to grow up in the world in which they have opportunities to completely realize themselves

In conclusion I would like to remind you of a saying: Education is what is left when the facts you have learned are forgotten

I hope that your stay here in Artek and your work at this Forum will leave you with the best impressions

Thank you for your attention. I wish you success, creativity and inspiration!