Participants in the 2017 Bukovel Spring School “Workshop on Post-Industrial Education” and the roundtable “Ukrainian Educational Transformations in a Global Context: Grassroots Initiatives,” which brought together educators and business representatives from Ukraine, North America, and Europe, hereby proclaim the following MANIFESTO as a result of collaborative learning based on innovative models, the exchange of ideas, discussions, and debates.
The world is undergoing a transition to the post-industrial era, where market and social value is created on the basis of unique ideas, high-level research, creative self-expression, democratic collaboration, and lifelong learning. In this context, and in light of geopolitical and socioeconomic processes, Ukraine has reached a critical juncture in terms of values, upon which the trajectory and quality of its future development depend.
We view the mission of education as the driving force behind cultural, value-based, and institutional change. To overcome the threat of mounting backwardness, Ukraine’s education system cannot afford to adhere to its traditional catch-up strategy. Instead, it must make a qualitative breakthrough by actively implementing the latest global scientific and practical achievements in the field of post-industrial education, in the following areas:
- – technological, which involves the use of high-tech teaching methods and the development of digital competencies
- – collaborative—based on a social constructivist approach and an open exchange of ideas among all participants in the learning process
- – authentic—one that involves the use of a problem-based approach and active research to solve contextual problems that are relevant to the students themselves and their communities
- – globalized—based on international engagement, partnerships, cross-cultural awareness, and multilingualism
- – democratizing—one that reduces the manifestations of hierarchical relationships and promotes self-expression, leadership, responsibility, and critical thinking.
We call on the educational community and student body to get involved in every way possible in implementing the post-industrial learning model in Ukraine—through their own initiatives and international partnerships, without waiting for directives or formalization.
We believe that the context of complex socioeconomic challenges, combined with leadership, collaboration, dignity, and talent can create a powerful impetus for breakthrough innovations that will enable Ukraine to join the ranks of competitive, socially stable countries that are developing dynamically on the basis of high technology, democratic institutions, and humanistic values.
(Text by O. Mykhailenko. Endorsed by all participants of both forums)
