OSCE Project Co-ordinator promotes environmental education in Ukraine

KYIV, 23 July 2009 - The OSCE Project Co-ordinator (OSCE PCU) presented a multi-media educational kit - known as the Green Pack - to educators, environmental groups and media at a roundtable discussion in Kyiv today.

The Green Pack concept will be used to introduce environmental education into Ukraine's secondary-school curricula in co-operation with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and Ukraine's Education Ministry.

It covers 22 topics related to environmental protection and sustainable development, and has been implemented in 14 countries in the OSCE region since it was launched in 2001. In Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, environmental education has been introduced into school curricula with the OSCE's assistance.

"Protection of the environment is an important aspect of any country's security. Our aim is to help young Ukrainians understand how important it is to maintain a healthy environment and to protect it in an active way. We also intend to assist Ukraine's Ministry of Education to raise young citizens' awareness of sustainable development," said Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

The Green Pack multi-media educational materials are an "innovative environmental educational tool shall not only awaken students' intellectual curiosity to the environmental sustainability, but also make them environment-conscious and pro-active in life", said Kliment Mindjov, Senior Expert at the Environmental Educational and Capacity Building Programme of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, which developed the tool.

The first step in introducing Green Pack to secondary schools will be to adapt the existing materials for Ukraine. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator will also organize training courses for school teachers on environmental education techniques.