NaUKMA students honor Hryhoriy Skovoroda at a seven-day Charity Festival
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EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE.
While russia is trying to destroy Ukrainians as a nation, students at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy are recalling Hryhoriy Skovoroda and supporting Ukrainian culture. On the 300th anniversary of the birth of one of the Academy's most famous students, well-known musicians, actors and historians recalled the memory of Ukraine’s most influential philosopher and national hero. The event was first planned as a “300 minute festival” but it grew to seven days at the campus and another location.
The festival was the initiative of NaUKMA’s Cultural and Art Center and a group of students. There were lectures about history, classes about Spudei (the name of students in the 18th century) traditions, festivities featuring the old university’s traditions, and also biopic movie reviews.
The festival was a charitable event. Funds raised were earmarked for “Взаємодопомога KMA” (“Mutual Aid at KMA”), a student organization that supports KMA students that are defending Ukraine in the Armed Forces.
“We thought that the "300 minutes" festival’s maximum will be 5 hours with 5 lecturers. Instead, we arranged a 7-days event with two locations, 13 lecturers, evening parties, and a baroque music concert. Obviously, something more connects us with Skovoroda than trips to the West and studying at the Academy. I owe him the joyful wisdom of freedom and love”, - commented the Main Organizer of the chamber festival, a student of the History science program, Anton Potiekhin.
Students recalled Skovoroda’s role in Ukraine’s history, and his impact during his time and subsequent generations, including on contemporary Ukraine. His image is memorialized in sculptures, artworks, theater productions, and even on the $500 Hryvnia note. Skovoroda has emerged as another symbol of Ukraine’s determination in the face of russian military aggression during the war. In Kharkiv, the russians tried to destroy his statute but among the ruble, it survived. It is yet another symbol of the strength of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
