Ukraine

Promise:

On my honour I promise that I will do my best:
To do my duty to my country, Ukraine,
To aspire to the highest spiritual ideals,
To help other people,
To keep the Guide Law.

Law:

1 A Guide’s honour can be trusted.

2 A Guide is loyal.

3 A Guide’s duty is to be useful and to help other people.

4 A Guide is a friend to all and a sister to all Guides.

5 A Guide is polite.

6 A Guide is a friend to animals; she loves and preserves nature.

7 A Guide is conscientious.

8 A Guide is cheerful in all difficulties.

9 A Guide is thrifty.

10 A Guide is pure in thought, word and deed.

Age groups:

Ranger 16-20

Guide  11-16

Swallow 7-11

Development of the movement:

The Guide Movement was born in Ukraine in 1993: the first Guide Groups were in the Western (Chernovtsy), Central (Kiev) and Eastern (Kharkov) parts of the country.

Norway was identified as the Link country to support development of Guiding in Ukraine. Representatives of WAGGGS and of Norway made frequent visits to Ukraine to find women interested in Guiding and to lead training events and to co-ordinate the establishment of a national Guide organization.

The Association of Ukrainian Guides (AGU) was established by the Founding Conference of the Association on 25 November 1995. Since then, the National Conference is held annually and the National Board (elected at Conference) has its regular meetings. The Association continues its development in such fields as education, community projects, training for leaders and international cooperation. In 2001, the Association’s first president was elected as a member of the European Committee.

Programme:

There is a special team responsible for developing and updating the educational programme for all age groups. The team is also responsible for developing recommendations for patrol leaders for all existing programmes.

There are eight points in the programme: ‘In the world of Guiding’; School of Medicine’; World Culture; Our Country-Ukraine’; Outdoor life; ‘The Earth is our home’, Eternal values and Homemaker.

There are also three special educational programmes:

Environmental health: ‘Ecology of the world starts with ecology of the soul’. The aim of this programme is the promotion of an ecological movement in the Ukraine and a youth involvement with environmental issues.

Cultural programme: ‘From Vikings to Greeks’. The main aim of this is to achieve friendships, cooperation and development of Guide and Scout organizations in different European countries through investigating cultural and historical development of our ancestors.

Environmental Programme: ‘Water is life’. This programme raises the awareness of girls and young women of the problems connected with water, its use and pollution in the Ukraine.

Relationship to society:

Besides the main eight-point programme of the Association, there are a number of different projects run by the Association related to the needs of Ukrainian society.

‘Born female – a Challenge to life’ This project was concerned with providing services for young, single and low-income mothers to give them access to free consultation with doctors, psychologists and lawyers; to teach them different skills for running their own businesses and to promote healthy lifestyles among them

‘The Health of Today’s Girl – The Health of Tomorrow’s Nation’ The goal of this project was health protection of future generations in the Ukraine. This focused on educating girls and young women in different age groups about reproductive health, and the elimination of negative influences: alcohol, drugs, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases, abortions. The project began in 2000 and included the national seminar on training health experts, a Summer school for peer educators and a publication of a health manual as well as over 50 peer education events.

The Woman for Woman social project was introduced in 2000 in the Kherson and Chernivsty districts. Information consultation centres were set up to improve the social-economic status of young women in the Ukraine through the implementation of educational programmes aimed at preventing the negative factors that affect young women and female unemployment.

Communication and Co-operation

AGU works with other National and international organizations. At national level, the Association maintains relationships with the Ministry of Family and Youth and other government institutions. AGU enjoys relations with the Scout organizations within the Ukraine and often arranges events jointly. AGU is the only national organization for girls and young women in the Ukraine.

AGU is a Founder Member of UNKMO — the Ukrainian National Committee of Youth Organizations.

AGU is working hard to strengthen its links and relations with the Guide and Scout organizations of other countries. The most important links at the moment are with the UK and Norway.

Members of AGU also participate in various international Guide and Youth events.

Training:

There is a special team of trainers responsible for the training policy of the Association. The National Training Scheme includes various training courses for Guide Leaders to improve the skills needed for their work with girls and young women.  The training courses are organised on local, regional and national levels.

Outdoor and Environmental Activities

Camps and holiday camps are a popular part of Guide activities.

The first National Jamboree Kingdom of Guiding was held in 1997 and the second in 2001. Several historical camps have also been organised as well as five regional ‘Gold Camps’ which were supported by Girlguiding UK.

Projects

• Youth Women Initiatives Fair 2004
• I Have A Right to Health
• Women to Women Regional Centres
• Young Women and Ukranian-Style Leadership