It’s known that Ukraine celebrates International Children’s Day on the 1st of June. The purpose of the holiday is to draw attention to the problems of respect for the rights and health of the child and mutual understanding among children. The decision was made by the International Democratic Federation in 1949. The UN supported this idea and declared the protection of the rights, life, and health of children one of the priorities of its activities.
On this occasion, a great number of families (over 80 people) gathered in the sunny courtyard of the Transcarpathian Regional Ecological and Naturalistic Center for Students Youth. Traditionally, the event began with the anthem of Ukraine. Director Oleksandr Gerevych referred to the audience with sincere words of congratulations and wished the children health, peace, and happy holidays. Every year, both adults and children look forward to the first day of summer, and the thing is that we are all looking forward to and dreaming about the days without war. The participants of the event expressed their gratitude to our defenders, who are now defending the sovereignty and independence of our state, and honored the moment of silence of the fallen heroes of the war.
The host of the event, Oksana Kremin, together with Darynka from Kharkiv, demonstrated the official symbol of the holiday – a flag on a green canvas, which symbolizes growth and harmony. It depicts a globe and 5 colorful human figures. These human figures symbolize diversity and tolerance, and the sign of the Earth, in the center, is a symbol of our common home. After the official part of the event, the participants went to the land of surprises and entertainment! Teachers-moderators prepared various stops, where children had the opportunity to test their knowledge of ecology, and biology, conduct chemical experiments and draw and communicate with animals.
The children also happily played cognitive ecological games, namely: “Guess which plant this fruit is”, “Taste and guess”, “Living and inanimate nature”, “Man and the environment”, and solved crosswords puzzles on the topic “Health”.At the stop “Colorful world around us,” students conducted interesting experiments with water. The patriotic poster was made at the “Children for Peace in Ukraine” stop. It turned out to be an appealing task to collect an eco-picture from natural materials. Young nature lovers did their tasks with interest and surprisingly active perseverance. The event ended with a patriotic flashmob “Peace to the children of Ukraine!” A pleasant surprise for the children was the sweet treats. Ecological games, competitions, and outdoor activities brought children not only real pleasure but also helped to educate them to develop knowledge of the world around them, develop an attitude to all living beings, and form conscious behavior in the natural environment.
The event was held in cooperation with the Transcarpathian Regional Ecological and Naturalistic Center of Student Youth (TRENCSY) and the Interreligious and Environmental Civil Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF) (headed by Alexander Bokotey) under the project “Responsibility for Creation and Women of the Carpathians” in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Bamberg (Erzbistum Bamberg), the Diocese of Würzburg (Bistum Würzburg) and Renovabis (Organization for Assistance to Eastern Europe from the Catholic Church in Germany).
Informational Service of IRCEF
