Young European Ambassadors host film screening to raise awareness of the war’s impact on Ukrainian education

Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) in London, in collaboration with the UCL Ukrainian Society and the SavED Foundation, organised a screening of the “We Are U” documentary on Tuesday, 19 March, and discussed education in Ukraine during wartime.

The film is produced by SavED, an international charity that restores access to education in Ukrainian communities as a result of Russian aggression. It showcases the struggles and experiences of five Ukrainian teenagers continuing their education during a time of war and explores their hopes for Ukraine’s future.

Following the film screening, participants took part in a panel discussion featuring students from Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kakhovka, and Lviv. In total, 25 participants attended the event, including Olena Severenchuk, a director at the SavED Foundation, and Natalia Pashkovska, a geography teacher from Kakhovka.

Ten YEAs took part in organising it, including the event’s organiser Artur Podsokha, a Ukrainian YEA in the EU/UK Chapter, Co-Coordinators of the Dialogue Initiative EU-Ukraine Working Group Freya Proudman and Moritz Clauder, as well as UK YEA Sam Eades who moderated the panel discussion. One Ukrainian YEA, Myroslava Trofymchuk, was also featured in the documentary.

“It was eye-opening to watch the next generation of Ukrainian youth coming through – young people who are passionate about their causes, and above all, their country. It was a privilege to have taken part, and a reminder to all about what Ukraine is fighting for!” Charlie Allen, a YEA from the UK who attended the event, said.

The organisers hope that such events can help spread awareness of the destruction Russia’s war has unleashed on Ukraine’s education system and the impact it has had on Ukrainian youth, as well as the resilience they have displayed in searching for creative ways to continue their studies.

The Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) initiative brings together socially engaged youth from the six Eastern Partner countries, the European Union and the United Kingdom to foster dialogue and to raise awareness about the EU and its cooperation with its Eastern partner countries.