Day of Prosperity and Freedom

Friends, today Ukrainians celebrate the Day of Prosperity and Freedom!

On this day, we recall two important events that shook the newest history of Ukraine - the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013 Revolution of Dignity. The Day of Merit and Liberty became a kind of successor to the celebration of the Liberty Day celebrated in honor of the Orange Revolution from 2005 to 2011 on November 22, but was subsequently abolished by the decree of Viktor Yanukovych.

And, of course, on November 21, 2013, the first protest actions on Maidan began in response to the decision of the then authorities to end the course on European integration.

I think that you now remember the events of the Revolution of Dignity as if they were unfolding yesterday. The country was tired of the dominance of corruption, constant theft, the tyranny of law enforcement agencies, neglect of human rights and decided to say no, to fight for the future for themselves and their descendants. It took a little time and blood was spilled on peaceful rallies. Then the revolution became different, all-embracing, general one. Bloodshed has become a definite symbol of the government's desire to suppress those who have a different stance. Beating students, burning tires, gunpowder, Molotov cocktails, Berkut, snipers, shooting and "Heavenly hundred" - all these terrible things somehow symbolize the events of the Revolution of Dignity. One of the most tragic and most necessary events in the history of modern Ukraine. Three months of protests, 106 dead and more than 2,000 wounded - that's it, the terrible price that had to be paid.

This day should be crocheted forever in our memory in honor of those who gave their lives for changes in Ukraine. The Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity were the first impetus for us to never return to the past, to fight for the future – independent and free. The process of change is still ongoing. But despite the ups and downs, joy and disappointment, victories and losses, the process that started then must come to an end. Because we are responsible for the kind of state in which our descendants will live and we must make every effort, unite, and work for the benefit of our country.

I wish you all strength, courage, patience. Stay honest with yourself and your Motherland and never despair! The eternal memory for all those who perished in order for us to live better.

Talented author - Yevgeny Adamtsevich.

Did you hear the famous "Zaporozhian march"? When this melody was first heard in the hall of the Kyiv Opera House, nobody doubted - it's music of independence. Years passed, "Zaporozhian March" became a folk melody, and few people remember that it had a talented author - Yevgeny Adamtsevich.

Ukrainian musician was born on January 1, 1904 in the village of Solonitsa, Poltava region, in the family of a station officer. When Eugene was only two years old, he lost his sight due to illness. But it did not make the boy lose his thirst for life. Parents sent him to study at the Kiev school for the blind. There, Eugene learned to play bandura, violin and sopilka. He sang well - his baritone covered two octaves. Mussi Olexeienko, a bandura player, taught boy to play the hardest instrument.

Subsequently, the young man moved to live to his grandmother to Romny, a city that in the 1920s was a prominent regional cultural center. There was a drama theater, and a significant cell of kobzaws. Yevgen Adamtsevich joined the Mirgorod chamber of bandura players, had started to play on public from 1927.

An outstanding musician over the years experienced a lot of grief: the hard 30th years of extermination of kobza and bandurgery, persecution, poverty, repression and oppression. However, Adamtsevich had a strong spirit and never folded his hands.

The girl Lidia fell in love with such a strong, courageous and talented handsome man. A cute young woman threw everything, escaped from home,

just in order to be close to her beloved Eugene. Couple had three daughters, for whom Eugene had built a house near the railway in Romny.

Eugene earned money hardly, he sang on the Romanian market. The Soviet government interpreted this as begging, so talented musician was often persecuted. There were occasions than he, the blind man, was taken away from the city, thrown alone in the forest, sometimes got arrested.

The life of a kobzar was not easy after the Second World War, because he did not have a seniority, he did not earn a pension. Again and again he had to return to the playing on the bazaar. The material position of the family improved when the union of singers-kobza-players appeared. There they began to organize concerts and pay for them some money.

Now imagine: Kiev Opera House named after T.G. Shevchenko, concert of kobzars and lyre players. Young girls bring to the scene a blind bandurist Yevgen Adamsevich. A high and strong kobzar touches bandura strings, and timidly says: "Zaporozhian March". At first, the hall stopped, listening to an unknown for many melody, then people began to rise from the seats ... the hall burst into applause. This work immediately became something important for all Ukrainians. A melody of the spirit, which spoke from the heart of an unbroken man.

At nnight on January 13, 1972, the second mowing of the intellectuals took place. The Kobzar Association closed its activities. Adamtsevich and his wife moved to their daughter to the village of Kholmovka, Bakhchysaray district in the Crimea. There, Yevgeny Adamtsevich, died - 45 years ago, on November 19, 1972. He was 67.

This is sad, instructive, full of strength and faith, story of the outstanding Ukrainian bandurist Yevhen Adamstsevich. He lived a hard life, but he was able to urge Ukrainians not to give up and believe in a bright future. So let's follow his calls.

Friends!

Friends! Today is the day of memory of Vasyl Krichevsky, Ukrainian painter, architect and graphic artist. It is he who is the author of the Ukrainian state emblem, adopted by the Central Rada, the person who designed money and state signs UPR. Vasyl Krichevsky is a man who revived the art of decorating the Ukrainian books, which has been lost since the XVIII century. He was a talented architect and painter, a representative of "Ukrainian Impressionism".

Vasyl was born on January 12, 1873 in the village of Vorozhba (now - Sumy Region). He was the oldest of the 8 children of the burgher Grigor Krichevsky and his wife Praskovya. Vasyl Krichevsky studied in Kharkiv, at the railway and technical college. At the end of the study he assisted the city architect's assistant.

Krichevsky began his artistic activity in the late 1890s and devoted more than fifty years to artistic scientific and pedagogical work. He was a distinct landscape painter. Currently, a significant part of his works are abroad, most of them in the Ukrainian Museum of New York. In 2003, the granddaughter of Vasyl Krichevsky, Oksana de Linde, donated approximately 300 his works to Kharkiv, Poltava, Lebedin and Kiev as a gift to Ukrainian museums. In particular, up to 40 works are in the collection of the Kharkiv Art Museum. A unique collection of paintings by the artist is kept at the Museum of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Kyiv.

In 1903, his construction plan won the competition at the home of Poltava Zemstvo. It became an example of a new architectural style - Ukrainian Architectural Modern. Till 1908, Vasyl Krichevsky has participated in the management of the construction and design of this building. Krichevsky was involved to the construction of various interesting buildings, in particular, the home of the writers "Rolit", the Literary and Memorial Museum of Shevchenko on Taras’s Hill, the Profit House on the street. Streletskaya, 28 in Kiev and others.

In 1912-1913 Vasyl Krichevsky led carpentry workshops of Khanenko and ceramic school in Mirgorod. For the order of the famous patron of the millionaire Bohdan Khanenko, Vasyl Krichevsky made sketches of carpets on the themes of Ukrainian folk art. Olenivska studio wrapped those carpets for the Khanenko spouses.

Krichevsky was one of the organizers and the first rector of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. For many years, Vasyl collected items of Ukrainian folk art. He was the author of the first textbook in Ukrainian folk art, which, unfortunately, did not manage to publish. The collection of Krichevsky, which was in the house of Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, was burned down during the artillery shelling by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

The time has come for the Ukrainian People's Republic. Vasyl Krichevsky was in good relationship with Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. It was he who was asked to make the first state seals. Then the task was to develop the coat of arms. Several ideas were discussed - "a sign of obscure meaning, something like trident" from the coins of Prince Vladimir, the crossbow - the old emblem of Kiev, and a Cossack with a musket, which was the coat of arms of the Hetmanate in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Galician Leo, and the Kiev Archistrateg Mikhail. Finally, Mala Rada approved the large and small state emblems, as well as the large and small stamps of the UPR. The trident sign of Volodymyr the Great emphasized the heredity of the new state from Kievan Rus. "This decoration is petty, not borrowed, it is connected with our millennial state political and cultural history", - noted Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. The stylized olive wreath that surrounded Tryzub in both coats of arms, executed by Krichevsky, symbolized the peace policy of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Vasyl Krichevsky also directed the artistic part in the production of the great Ukrainian films "Taras Shevchenko", "Taras Treyaslo", "Borislav Laughs", "Zvenigora", "Nazar Stodolya" and the first Ukrainian color film "Sorochinsky Fair".



During the Second World War Vasyl Krichevsky with his wife and daughter moved to Lviv, where he was the rector of the Highest Fine Art Studio. In autumn 1943 Krichevsky family emigrated firstly to Czechoslovakia, then to Austria, Germany, France. In early 1948 they settled in Venezuela. Eminent artist and architect died on November 15, 1952, exactly 65 years ago in the city of Caracas. In 1975, Krichevsky was reburied at the Ukrainian cemetery of St. Andrew in Bowden Brook, New Jersey, USA.

Friends!

Friends! During my last visit to Israel, I met with the Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein. He prepared an unexpected gift for me – list of appreciation for the personal contribution to the warm and friendly relations of Ukraine and the State of Israel. I greatly respect Mr Edelstein, who was born in Chernivtsi, as a man and a politician. Therefore, I am extremely pleased that he noted my work.

Symbolically, a year ago I received another honorary diploma, this time - from the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubii. These awards for me are another proof that I need to continue the work that I give a significant portion of my strength, diligence and time. It is extremely important for me that Ukrainians and Jews live in harmony, peace and strong friendship. Historically, our two nations were always close. Similarly, our countries should support each other on the world stage, develop various bilateral projects, and open up new horizons of complicity. And also, we should deep the cooperation at all levels - both state and interpersonal.

I know that from year to year, relations between Ukraine and Israel are getting warmer. I am happy that I can make my contribution to it. And I promise, there will be many more interesting things to come.

Yossi Ginsberg

«I have lived through tremendous adventures and survived only because other people risked their lives for me. Realizing how interconnected and interdependent we all are, I am neither shy or embarrassed when it is time for me lean on another to ask for help. And when I have the opportunity to help another, I view it as my duty and privilege», - this is a famous expression of the Israeli traveler Yossi Ginsberg. Today in cinemas you can see the film "Jungle", which is based on the extraordinary history of this man who once got lost the Amazonian jungle. Yossi himself is played by the famous actor Daniel Radcliffe.

Yossi Ginsberg was born in 1959 in Tel Aviv. The boy's parents survived the Holocaust. Yossi lived as an ordinary Israeli youth - went to serve in the army at the age of 18. Yossi had a dream - to get acquainted with the French writer Henri Sharriier, whose autobiography ("Butterfly") he read when he served in the navy of Israel. Sharriere also served in the fleet (of France), but after a false accusation of murder, he was put into a jail near Guinea in South America. He had escaped for several times, but he was returned to prison. After his release, Henry lived in Venezuela. Yossi worked on several jobs to raise funds and go to South America. He wanted to ask Sharriier an advice on how to explore the Amazon jungle.

But when Ginsberg raised funds, Sharriere had already died. But Yossi still went for his dream. From Venezuela, the traveler reached Colombia, where he became friends with a teacher from Switzerland, Mark Stamm, and went with him to Bolivia, La Paz. There they met the geologist Karl Ruprechter, who agreed to lead the young men to the expedition, to seek gold. They were joined by an American photographer named Kevin Gale.

It was an adventure that Yossi had been waiting for. He was 21 years old and nothing could stop him before realizing his dream. But reality was cruel. First, 4 brave conquerors of the jungle left without food. They were forced to eat fruits and ... monkeys. Teacher Stamm refused to eat it and he was abandoned. Another unpleasant discovery waited for the men: the geologist Ruprechter was not a geologist, but an Austrian criminal, the last chance for a "happy life" of which was the gold that the group was looking for. This news has sown discord in the team. Photographer Kevin Gale and Yossi decided to build a raft and return to La Paz along the rivers. "Geologist" could not swim, so he took over the withered teacher, and they went their own route. The group agreed to meet in La Paz for Christmas.

But the guys lost control of the raft and flew into the waterfall on it. The photographer managed to escape and go ashore, but Yossi was less fortunate - he was borne by the current. Fortunately, the young man was not seriously injured. For several days he was looking for a friend, but he could not find Kevin.

Ginsberg was left alone in a terrible jungle and all the kinds of torments that it could prepare for a man. His body was bitten by huge red ants, mosquitoes. Several times, Yossi was almost eaten by predators. Twice he had to get out of the swamp. The young man fell into a flood in which he barely survived. So more than two weeks passed. In the last 5 days, Yossi did not eat anything, he suffered from hallucinations. And suddenly - he heard the engine. Ginsberg thought it was another ghost, but it was the aboriginal search group that had been looking for him for several days. It turned out that photographer Kevin Gale survived. A few days later, the aborigines found him, and he told them about Yossi. They found an Israeli traveler when there was no chance for his salvation.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to find two other members of the team - the "geologist" Karl Ruprechter and the teacher Mark Stemm.

After the rescue, Yossi was treated for three months in a hospital. He fully recovered, joined the Tel Aviv University at the Faculty of Jewish Philosophy and Business Administration.

If you think it was Ginsberg's last trip to Amazonia, you are very wrong. He returned there again in 10 years. Yossi helped residents of the San Jose-Uchupiamons settlement get a grant of $ 1.25 million in the Inter-American Development Bank for the construction of solar cells in the jungle. Ginsberg lived in the settlement for 3 years - from 1992 to 1995, helped to reduce the Chalalan eco-house in the Bolivian national park of Madidi. He did many other useful things, for example, he defended the intellectual property of the indigenous peoples of the region.

In 1995, the International Center for Drug Abuse Research and Treatment (CITA) invited Yossi to the position of Vice President of Development. Ginsberg created 12 treatment centers from opium addiction around the world, from Mexico to China. In 2009 he left the post and opened his own treatment center of the same profile in Australia.

Subsequently, Yossi returned to Israel and founded a design company. In 2013 he became one of the co-founders of the start-up "Headbox", now he works as general manager at Blinq.com, a company based in Silicon Valley

Yossi Ginsberg is a man who is called one of the most motivating personalities of our time. It embodies the fact that faith, fortitude, moral strength and selfless labor can help you to stand up despite what you have gone through. Never give up - in either extraordinary or ordinary situations.

"Peace to your home!"

Friends! Once again I sincerely thank all of you, who came to yesterday's movie show. I was very pleased to see you personally, hear your words of support and see smiles.

I'm sorry, if someone felt uncomfortable - over 350 people came, and it was a surprise. We quickly resolved this issue and hope that everyone could watch the movie in a comfortable atmosphere.

The move "Peace to your home!" by Vladimir Lert exceeded all of mine, and I think yours, hopes. The film touched the soul itself, held the viewer through a difficult path between tragedy and comedy. Many of us even cried and sincerely confessed about it after a session. I'm happy you liked it. I am very glad that this evening will leave good memories.

See you soon, friends!

boarding school "Manof"

How to help the "hard" child to adapt in the society? The answer to this question is sought in every country. Especially when it is about those children, who live in boarding schools. Especially when they have already had a criminal record, and for many it's a signal that there is no way back from a slippery path.

But this is not truth. In the Israeli boarding school "Manof" they found an interesting approach to help the children. The name of the boarding school means a "crane" and it really raises youth from the bottom.

The stories of teenagers entering the orphanage are similar. Basically, their parents are repatriates, who have recently moved to the country, began to look for a job and because of the that stopped paying attention to the child. And he, left alone, tried to look for friends on the street. But most often, there he could find only troubles. In Israel there are strict laws - a serious fight on the street can lead to a criminal conviction and conditional sentence. For minors it is often replaced by learning in a specialized boarding school, at the end of which the criminal record can be lifted if the teenager behaved well. But how to make a tomboy, who has a grudge against society and adults, to look at the world differently?

It's possible. And, imagine, after training in "Manof" some of the students go to serve in the police. How did this happen?

It's simple. The boarding school introduced a separate subject - cynology. How did it appear in this school? Once there was a student, an immigrant from Argentina Ariel Bar-Maimon. He was one of the most difficult guys even for this school. He ran away several times from the orphanage but was returned. Once Ariel, who did not give a damn about all the rules, brought a puppy with him. And a miracle happened - from a tomboy the guy turned into a good owner, who loved his dog and cared about it. Ariel graduated from the orphanage, but in 2002 he died in a terrorist attack. A few years later his mother died. All the money the woman bequeathed to "Manof", to build a dog nursery there.

The curator of the cynological special project in the boarding school is the legendary cynologist Arkady Shulman. He teaches teenagers how to train four-legged fighters. And, finally, after the dog training is over, the dogs are taken to the police or army, and the former robbers often follow them. They become professional dog handlers. The worst punishment for boarding students is when they are removed from the lessons with dogs. Children sincerely wait and love them, because four-legged friends give them love, do not judge, but truly understand.

Of course, in addition to cynological lessons in this boarding school there is another heap of necessary form factors for the adaptation of adolescents. Good food, clean territory, the building itself is a former palace with fountains and pools. In addition, the children are actively working, the run real economy: take care of sheep, goats, and a garden with a garden.

So, it turned out that it was not so difficult to answer the question of how to help children, who, because of the difficult nature, were refused by everyone. All you need is just to forget about reading boring lectures or punishing them. It is worthwhile to engage teenagers in that they are interested. Director of "Manof" Zaava Atraczi says: "There is a golden rule:" There is no bad child - it happens that the child feels bad. " No one is born with complexes, they appear throughout life. " I believe, most importantly - if the child is confused, you should always put your shoulder to him.

Peter Jacyk

"If I’ll do the right thing, nobody would remember it, but if I’ll do wrong, then nobody would forget it". It is the favorite quote of a prominent Canadian entrepreneur of Ukrainian descent, patron and philanthropist, known for his significant contribution to the financing of Ukrainian studies in the West and in Ukraine Peter Jacyk. Today, on the day of his memory, I would like to remind everyone that he was a brilliant man.

Petr Jacyk was born on the 7th of July, 1921 in the village Verkhnye Sinowidne, Skolyshchyna.

The boy's father - Dmitry - was a wealthy peasant, and Peter was the firstborn in the family. The boy soon became half-willed: his father died when he was only 14 years old. Peter became a senior and took care about mother, two sisters and four brothers. Despite this, he gave much effort to education - he graduated from a village school, studied on agricultural and railway courses. After graduating, he worked as an assistant engineer. During the war he cooperated with the Ukrainian partisans.

In 1944, Petr Jacyk lived in Germany. There he graduated from the Ukrainian Technical and Economic Institute in Regensburg, became the economist. Later, Jacyk moved to Canada. With $ 7 in his pocket, without friends, ties and assistance, he surprisingly quickly founded his own construction company Prombank Investment Limited (P. Jacyk Group). He was a businessman-phenomenon who became a multimillionaire due to his intelligence, abilities and talents.

Rich man, who could spend money on standard things for such people - yachts, planes, cars, acted quite differently. Peter Jacyk was a sincere, modest, kind and devoted man. He always remembered his roots and supported Ukraine wherever he was. Yevhen Chykalenko said about Jacyk that he: "loved Ukraine not only to the depths of the soul, but to the depths of his own pockets".

First donation of $ 1,000 was made by Petro Jacyk in the early 60's, and the last - shortly before his death. He spent millions of dollars on the popularization of the Ukrainian culture on the world.

Petro Jacyk was one of the sponsors of the Institute of Ukrainian Studies at Harvard University (USA), the Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies, the Center for the Study of the History of Ukraine at the University of Alberta (Canada), Educational Foundation named after. Petr Jacyk (its fund amounts to $ 4 million), a Ukrainian lecture at the School of Slavic Studies and East European Studies at the University of London, a documentation center at the library named after. John P. Roberts at Toronto University, Jacyk Foundation at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) in Edmonton.

Jacyk helped to open the Ukrainian Department of Medicine at the Institute of Harriman at Columbia University, gave for these 750 thousand dollars. A lot of scientific monographs on the history of Ukraine (for example, the translation of the History of Ukraine-Rus by Mykhaylo Hrushevsky into English), economics, political science, medicine, and ethnography were published with his help. The amount of his donations to Ukrainian institutions in the western world exceeds $ 16 million.

In addition, Petro Jacyk helped Ukrainian students to enter universities in Europe, the United States and Canada. And yet - he founded the internationally known Ukrainian language contest, the number of participants of which in recent years reached 5 million people from more than 20 countries of the world.

If you want to learn more about this extraordinary man, you should read the book by Mykhailo Slazobshpitsky "A Ukrainian who refused to be poor".

Petro Jacyk wished Ukraine prosperity. He spent a lot of money to consolidate the image of Ukraine in the world and it would seem he could help anyone who deserved it. His sincere soul, unimaginable deeds and sacrifices are what we all must remember. Eternal memory.