The International Intellectual Marathon “Wisdom Is Your Best Friend” (Ivan Franko) is held by the National University “Ostroh Academy” to mark the 440th anniversary of the foundation of its predecessor and the first higher education institution in Ukraine and Eastern Europe – Ostroh Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Let us recall that the Verkhovna Rada Resolution No.971-VIII, adopted on February 2, 2016, calls for this anniversary to be marked as a national-level event.
Everyone is welcome to post for posterity a wise saying of their own on the project’s website 440.oa.edu.ua till August 1, 2016. Every participant of the marathon can offer one statement limited to 440 characters. Moderators will then decide on admitting the saying to the voting list. Most popular phrases will get on the 440-strong short list. From this list, the winning phrases will be selected for the TOP 25 wisdom list (number 25 symbolizes the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian independence). The 440 list will be published in book form, while the TOP 25 wise sayings will be carved on Ostroh Academy’s Triumphal Arch, to be built at the school’s entrance before the anniversary celebration slated for October.
Mykhailo Hrushevsky said once that Ostroh Academy was known in the 16th and 17th centuries as the “first hotbed of new education, new school system, and new spiritual life.” It was “...the sole shining star lighting the whole of Ukraine... just when the need was greatest. And this is its eternal glory,” Ivan Ohiienko wrote.
Rector of the National University “Ostroh Academy” Ihor Pasichnyk personally took part in the marathon, writing: “Faith is believing in invisible things, but faith’s reward is a chance to see what we believe in.”
“Do you want to become part of Ostroh Academy’s history for all times? You should participate in the project, then. This marathon is a unique opportunity to leave one’s intellectual product for future generations. Therefore, every Ukrainian has a chance to activate their thinking and write a saying that will be there for hundreds of years,” Pasichnyk told us.
