Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish Students Build Interethnic and Interreligious Dialogue

The Kovcheh (Arch) 2013 international interfaith youth seminar for Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish students will be held from June 30 to July 7 in the village of Bilshivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

During the week, 30 Ukrainian, Jewish, and Polish students from all over Ukraine will learn to overcome ethnic stereotypes and find common ground in constructive discussions on the most pressing and controversial issues of interethnic and interreligious relations.

This year, Kovcheh takes place at the Center for Peace and Reunification of a Roman Catholic parish in Bilshivtsi. Appropriately named “A Wounded World – Responsibility Before God,” this year’s seminar takes place in the year that marks the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor, the 70th anniversary of the tragic events in the Warsaw Ghetto, and the 70th anniversary of the tragedy in Volyn.

Young people who will soon form the new Ukrainian elite, along with well-known scholars and community leaders, will discuss the complex and controversial topics relating to the past and present of the three nationalities, seek ways to overcome historical conflicts that prevent interethnic dialogue, and take a new look at the possibility of joint development.

Under the guidance of experienced teachers and moderators, the participants will discuss painful pages of history to understand the important truth: someone else's pain is not felt.

Scholars and public figures from Ukraine, Poland, and Israel will be among the speakers and moderators.

As part of the program, the participants will go on a tour to the Karaite History and Culture Museum in Halych, the town of Kuta, which is a center of Armenian culture in the Carpathian region of Pokuttya, and the synagogue in Kolomyia. The unique atmosphere of these areas was the result of centuries of interaction between different cultures and the peaceful coexistence of people of different ethnicities.

The participants of Kovcheh are enthusiastic about understanding the history, culture, and traditions of the peoples who since ancient times have lived together in Ukraine. The youth leave the seminar with ideas of tolerance and understanding, and seek to continue this dialogue in their schools and institutions. This is one of the most important missions of the seminar.

The Kovcheh seminar has been held since 2006. For five years it was held at the monastery in Univ, where during World War II, the priests and monks of the Greek Catholic Church, headed by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky and his brother Archimandrite Clement Sheptytsky, rescued from the flames of the Holocaust Jewish children and helped Ukrainian and Polish children. The dramatic events that took place on this earth are examples of harmony and understanding for the different nationalities.