Ten Danish schools join effort to teach Ukrainian history and strengthen diaspora identity

The Danish city of Skive hosted the program’s first mentoring session, where teachers from Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Odense, Kolding, and Stockholm were introduced to an interactive teaching method called Memories in Boxes. The model combines work with historical and cultural artifacts, music, creative assignments, and interactive elements — allowing children not only to learn information but to feel history through touch, sound, and personal experience.

Teachers highlighted the practicality of the approach, its adaptability for different age groups, and its ability to strengthen the self-identification of Ukrainian children living abroad.

“Returning to our roots gives us strength to move forward. Knowing our history helps us understand who we are and keeps us united even when we are scattered around the world,” educators said.

The method was presented by the Foundation’s educational project coordinator and historian Nataliia Omelchuk, and project manager and Odesa National University PhD candidate Svitlana Kvitnytska.

The Pylyp Orlyk Foundation continues to expand the Roots and Wings program internationally, supporting Ukrainian educators and amplifying the Ukrainian voice worldwide through education, memory, and culture. Since September 2025, teachers from eight Ukrainian schools in six Czech cities have been teaching Ukrainian history and undergoing methodological training to ensure lasting results.

At the Educational Academy for Ukrainian weekend-school teachers in Europe in August 2025, organizers reported that 67% of Ukrainian diaspora schools did not teach history at all.

“We are working to change this critical situation. Knowledge of one’s national history helps our children, who are forced to live abroad, preserve their identity and remain part of our nation divided by war,” said Yaruna Yasynovych, program director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.

The program is being implemented in partnership with NGO Help Ukrainian Children, the civic organization Lastivka, and with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Denmark.