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Pre-victory strength for post-victory plans

National EdCamp VOLIA 2023

Content

Why VOLIA?
What is the key to a better future?
The event for the free people
 The crystal of EdCamp VOLIA 2023
Reflection areas
What’s inside: The event program
Agenda
How to join
Partnership circle

June 27–29, online & offline

Education event for the free people, in two formats: SEL* as (un)conference & Five Minute Conference

Crystallizing Free Will for Well-Being!

* SEL = social and emotional skills / learning

Why VOLIA?

VOLIA is of significant value for us

Ukraine is a nation of free people

1

Ukrainian word volia includes many important meanings: freedom, free will, agency. In her book The Values Compass. What 101 Countries Teach Us About Purpose, Life, and Leadership, British researcher Mandeep Rai analyses the values inherent in different nations and countries. In her opinion, Ukrainians’ inherent value is freedom — one of the meanings of volia in Ukrainian.

VOLIA as freedom, free will, and agency is a crucial concept for Ukraine, encoded in its small coat of arms, the trident. Freedom is of high value for us because Ukraine is a country of free people; at the same time, we have an extraordinary will to win and have a better future for our country. Each one of us puts significant effort into bringing the victory closer. Educators also do this: by working in extremely difficult conditions and teaching children who will become the new generation that will develop our country.

2

The set of Ukrainian values, the concept of the New Ukrainian School, and OECD’s research have shaped National EdCamp VOLIA 2023 philosophically.

3

We interpret the four letters of the Ukrainian word ВОЛЯ [VOLIA] as four vertices of a square — a shape symbolizing resilience, reliability, a matrix of creation, an embodiment of an idea: ВОЛЯ in Ukrainian stands for Віра (Belief), Освіта (Education), Любов (Love), Ясність (Transparency). For our educational event, we suggest yet another interpretation of the key Ukrainian code — to crystallize this power that leads to well-being.

We also call this event a pre-victory (un)conference for post-victory plans, as we all believe in Ukraine’s victory without doubt and are getting ready to introduce profound changes in education after it.

What is the key to a better future?

We believe that the super-goal of education should be development and crystallization of free will for individual and collective well-being.

The future will always surprise us with new challenges to human well-being. Climate change and global artificial intelligence, economic upheavals, pandemics, and natural disasters... And real wars, still waged in the 21st century.

75% of school students from different countries consider themselves citizens of the world, are aware of these challenges, and want to have an impact on global problems solving. However, one in two respondents does not feel strong enough to alleviate the situation in the world.

The key is this very strength that allows taking on challenges and navigating the path to well-being. In education (when talking about children and youth, it is described as student agency), free will is based on a belief that “I can cope, I can positively influence my life and circumstances.”

Free will also means an ability to act: “I know what to do, I have the knowledge, the skills, and a plan to enable these changes.” This works for everyone, including children.

Students learn and develop their agency in interaction with others: peers and friends, teachers, parents, siblings, people from communities they belong to, and in the group dynamics.

Source: OECD, PISA 2018 Results. Are students ready to thrive in an interconnected world? Volume VI, 2020

Learn more

“The key to the future of education is student agency. Students who are not just passive learners, but who can mobilize their cognitive, social, and emotional resources to change the world.”

Andreas Schleicher

The event for the free people

The philosophical framework of the event has its practical implementation and is related to key elements of EdCamp VOLIA 2023.

1 BELIEF —> Community

We believe in Victory and further development of Ukraine. Believing allows us to move on and learn. When I believe in myself, I can perceive knowledge easier.

Learn more 

Community

The 40,000-strong community of responsible teachers is a personification of our faith in changes in Ukraine and a demonstration of remarkable heroism in difficult times.

2 EDUCATION —> Five Minute Conference

We believe education should be prioritized. Having deep knowledge about the world, we can embrace it and learn to love. 

 Learn more

Five minute conference

An online event where we will try to answer the question of what the new /Ukrainian/* school could be and unite Ukrainian and foreign experts around it. The event will be held in a new format for EdCamp Ukraine —Five Minute Conference. In addition, expert sessions by offline guests of the event will be held live, broadcasted online. *The word “Ukrainian” is underlined since the expert circle will not only reflect on changes for Ukrainian schools, but also offer ways to rethink global education.

3 LOVE —> SEL as (un)conference

We want our progress to be grounded in love and kindness — to ourselves, people, the profession, the country, and the world. Only when we are able to show compassion and empathy, can we have transparency.

Learn more

SEL as (un)conference

The launch of the international Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES), and social, emotional, and ethical learning (SEEL) program cover the concept of love in various aspects. An important part of the event will be “SEL as (un)conference” — a large-scale official presentation of the SSES, of the first results of SEE Learning implementation, of #educationwithoutdiscrimination online course, and the national POVIR platform with participation of Serhii Babak, Sergii Gorbachov, Lilia Hrynevych, Ruslan Hurak, Serhii Koleboshyn, Oksen Lisovyi, Andreas Schleicher, and Tetiana Vakulenko.

4 TRANSPARENCY —> A vision book

We believe that transparency is one of key qualities for education — clear, open, and understandable to all participants of the process.

Learn more

A vision book

We will try to summarize all discussions, expert opinions, ideas, and insights about the future of Ukrainian school education in the format of a visionary non-fiction book titled What New /Ukrainian/ School Could Be together with Vivat publishing house, which will be published by the end of 2023. We will collect all opinions: not only on the NUS reform, but also about the chance to rethink and reinvent education after the war.

“When asked about the essence of the New Ukrainian School reform, I say that in addition to being child-centered and competency-focused, education is considered, for the first time since our independence, as an ecosystem that should help people, both children and adults, to move towards well-being.”

Oleksandr Elkin

 The crystal of EdCamp VOLIA 2023

We shape the concept of will as a crystal — a figure with a clear structure and joy in its core.

During our national EdCamp Joy event in December 2021, we explored this concept and found it to be broader than happiness because joy can exist amid different life circumstances. Joy can border with trials, losses, even grief.

Our crystal, the symbol of EdCamp VOLIA 2023, starts with joy. When joyful, we can strengthen our will.

The lower and upper vertices rising from the center of the crystal mark two intentions: the “I can — I know” striving, responsible for individual well-being, and the “We can — We know” intention, denoting collective well-being that we all aim for.

“Adversity is not destiny. We all live through our share of adversities, but we can make resiliency-oriented choices. It’s important for us to realize that what we cultivate in the garden of our lives, grows.”

Elaine Miller-Karas

Reflection areas

We will invite the entire expert community to share their ideas, visions, or specific proposals for changes in education.

Reflections of the speakers will be grouped into 8 areas.

Security and Civil Defense

Strengthening this component in areas where the control of the Ukrainian government has been restored, in combat zones, and areas under constant shelling.

Openness of the World

Inclusion of Ukrainian education in global trends and standards of education, in particular, in the context of European integration.

Education Content

Foundational value, changes in the semantic content, pedagogical approaches and methods, and learning focuses.

Infrastructure and Network

The principles of rebuilding and revitalizing educational institutions and changes in the organization of educational space.

Skills of the Future 

Orienting schools to social and emotional skills and current needs of the labor market.

Professional Development of pedagogical practitioners and researchers

Changes in the role of a teacher in accordance with global trends, the aftermath of the war, and the New Ukrainian School reform.

Resiliency and Healing

Using resiliency-informed approaches that promote post-war healing and mental well-being.

Digital School

The role of technology in organization and content of learning.

“Acknowledging that all we have is other people is also a result of our choice. This is why it’s important for us, humans, to strengthen each other without looking for differences between us. Each of us is a personality, with their own peculiarities and unique traits but together we are so much stronger than on our own.”

Edith Eva Eger

What’s inside: The event program

Three days of the event: EdCamping with Joy, Celebrating Constitution, Enabling Changes
Three expert parallels with VOLIA presentations by leading experts
Panel discussions, facilitated sessions, and brainstorming
Speed geeking and teacher parallels of experience sharing and team challenges
32 five-minute speeches by Ukrainian and foreign experts and 8 steps to strengthening student agency
3 sessions with discussion of the meaning of education and resilience
VOLIA planner
Victory playlist
“Soft” room, press room
Signing a memorandum and creating a roadmap for the implementation of social and emotional skills into Ukrainian education
Awards and distinctions for the participants of the event
Pre-ordering of the book What New /Ukrainian/ School Could Be
Special session for setting a record of Ukraine!

Agenda

Download EdCamp VOLIA 2023 agenda here

Look inside the program

“We are carrying a message to the future… all of us, every human in the world… and it’s very important. … Your life, the wholeness of the life, everything about your life… is one letter. And guess what? If your letter doesn’t get sent — your one little letter, A, or B, or L… the whole message can’t be read. The whole message will be lost if you don’t live your letter. Your life is about living your letter whatever happens to you.”

Jack Grapes

How to join

With a certificate

This event offers a professional developing opportunity under MoES requirements and can be accessed on EdWay National Platform for teachers’ advanced training. If you would like to obtain a certificate on professional development, please be as focused as possible during the event, take notes of the sessions you attend, and fill in an online summary form after the event is over.

Without competition selection

We will invite all those who register to join the online part of the event. In-person participation in the (un)conference will be drawn among those who register in our Google form. No certification fee will be required for this event, just like any other professional development program during the war.