18-19 Oct 2007
Taras Shevchenko Pedagogical University of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine hosted its first NATO Autumn Academy on 18 and 19 October 2007. The event focused on the “NATO-Ukraine Relations: Myths and Realities” and was supported by the NATO Information and Documentation Centre (NIDC) in Ukraine.
Participants included university students from the International Relations faculty of the host university, as well as the students from other universities all over Ukraine.
During the two-day event, they discussed such topics as: the past and present of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, various aspects of the NATO-Ukraine relationship, Ukrainian national interests and economic aspects of the security.
At the end of the session, students were able to exchange opinions on the presentations in debates, which were chaired by two PhD students from Luhansk and Lviv universities.
Officials from NATO Headquarters briefed the audience through videoconferences. Representatives from NATO countries’ embassies and the NATO offices in Ukraine (the NIDC and the NATO Liaison Office) also participated in the event.
On the margins of the Academy, a briefing for the students of the Military Lyceum in Luhansk was organized by the NIDC and the NATO-Ukraine Civic League. This underlines the interest in promoting better understanding of NATO, which is being shown by educational institutions in Ukraine’s security sector.
