In the diversified and globalized world of today, establishing long-term contacts is the first step toward success. Seeking compromise and understanding, all countries in the world, including Ukraine, do not get tired of putting their diplomats at the table of negotiations. Can cultural organizations that do not take part in big politics be helpful in this process?
Members of the British Council in Ukraine assert that for nearly 17 straight years they have contributed to Ukraine-Great Britain relations. What are the organization’s achievements and what has it taught to the Ukrainian military men in the past seven years? Can Ukrainians boast of their knowledge before the entire world? What do people abroad think about our state, in particular in Great Britain? Head of the British Council in Ukraine Margaret JACK has presented her views on these issues in her interview to The Day.
Can you tell us about how the British Council has contributed to the relations between Ukraine and Great Britain?
“This is about building trust and interest in Great Britain. Ideas and knowledge are the basis for relations between Great Britain and Ukraine. I would like to give an example, which refers to fighting the climate change. One of the greatest tasks that Ukraine is faced with is raising energy efficiency. We can see the growth of the energy sector in the whole world, therefore the whole humankind is responsible for the climate changes it causes. The British Council took part in the joint project with the city administration of Manchester. Our Ukrainian office, in its turn, has worked with the administrations of Ukrainian cities. On our joint initiative, members of environment, energy, and educational organizations came to the Crimea in order to discuss the possibilities of using Ukraine’s and Great Britain’s knowledge and experience to solve of energy problems.”
Are the activities of the British Council in Ukraine in any way special as compared with other countries?
“I would like to start from common features, for the British Council is operating in 190 countries of the world, and all its offices have very similar missions. The main thing is that the British Council is an independent cultural organization that is generating trust and interest in cooperation with Great Britain by way of sharing knowledge and ideas with people all over the world.
“The way we do this to a large extent depends on the specific country. But in general we have three main targets: to support openness, prosperity and sustained development. Working for the sake of openness, we are developing a number of projects dedicated to intercultural dialogue. It is important for us how young people from different countries communicate with each other, how they understand each other, and how they feel about other cultures. This, by the way, helps them better understand the culture of their country and their own identity.
“Secondly, we help establish and develop a knowledge-based economy. We believe that for the success of any country and the world in general we need to educate leaders who will be the pillars educated, information-based society. This is the only way to create strong, 21st-century society.
“Our third goal is to foster sustained development. The climate change has become the greatest challenge for the present-day world. The British Council supports the environmental initiatives of the countries in which it operates, including Great Britain.
“Approximately 18 months ago we carried out research in many European countries, which enabled us to understand better the priorities and needs of young people — what is important for them, what is important for the world in general, whether they understand the value of knowledge and experience of other countries, and who they want to be. We polled young Ukrainians, Spaniards, British, Germans, and Poles with these questions and learned about common problems that young people face all over the world.
“We developed the program called ‘Intercultural Navigators.’ Fifty young Ukrainians were invited to participate, and we want to show to them the importance of intercultural understanding and mutual respect in our diversified and globalized world.“
You have experience of teaching English in various countries of the world. How do the level of education and English proficiency in Ukraine compare with them?
“The level of Ukrainian education is very high. I came to Ukraine only three months ago, but before my arrival I had tried to learn as much as possible about Ukraine via the Internet. So, the statistics prove that the level of education is very high, as well as the number of high-school graduates who enter higher education institutions. All this is proof of strong educational traditions in Ukraine.”
In your opinion, what image does Ukraine have abroad, in particular in Great Britain?
“I think that Ukraine’s image is rather interesting. Great Britain sees Ukraine through the prism of various events, and in general the image of your country is based on what the British see on TV (actually, like elsewhere in the world).
“Taking my family in Britain as an example, their greatest impression of Ukraine was, of course, the Orange Revolution. This was an extraordinary event, when thousands of people on the Maidan were calling for changes — these TV images attracted the audience to TV screens in every British house.
“Another event that gathered whole families in front of TV sets was the Eurovision competition where Ruslana won. Following news reports on Ukraine is important for everyone who is interested in Ukraine or wants to do business here.
“We can see that this is a country with a very strong potential that wants to become part of united Europe. We are also making efforts to make Ukraine better known: for example, two months ago within the framework of the British Council’s project ‘Challenges in Schools’ British schoolchildren came to Ukraine and young Ukrainians — to Great Britain. When they returned, they told their friends and relatives about what they had seen in the places they had visited.
“I want to share my personal observation: to a large extent Ukraine’s image depends on the country from which you view it. For example, when I worked in Indonesia, they said that Ukraine is a cold country. Ukraine’s image in Britain is completely different. You know, when I came to Kyiv, I thought it was a fantastic city, something I had not even surmised.
“The Internet has a great power for shaping a country’s image. For example, young people in Britain use primarily the global network. When I wanted to learn anything about Ukraine, I read blogs and looked through the reports of news agencies. I also found many good Ukrainian websites. I watched an amateur video about Ukraine on YouTube. A guy walked down Andriivsky uzviz with a camcorder in his had, telling about Kyiv in English. And this is indeed a representation of Ukraine. This video gave me a sense of Kyiv in 10 minutes.
“Among my strongest impressions after arriving to Ukraine was The Day‘s photo exhibit. Quite unexpectedly, I found myself at such an unusual, fascinating, and interesting event. In my opinion, the exhibit showed the contrasts germane to Ukraine and conveyed the feelings and emotions of its citizens. From those photos one could learn nearly everything about Ukrainians. They were worth more than a thousand words. I saw the whole of Ukraine as I stood there.”
