International cooperation in the field of adult education

On February 12, 2023, a methodical seminar dedicated to the organization of lifelong education and adult education as its component was held in the city of Celle, which is a German city-partner of the city of Sumy.

Representatives of the educational sphere and libraries of Lower Saxony, a representative of the Institute of International Cooperation of the Association of German People’s Universities (DVV International) and representatives of the People’s University of Celle (Volkshochschule Celle, VHS Celle) took part in the seminar. From the side of Ukraine, the delegation of Sumy State University took part in the seminar, which included the head of the Department of International Economic Relations, Yuriy Petrushenko, who also heads the Center for Adult Education “Education for Life”, which works at Sumy State University.

During the seminar, representatives of Sumy State University were introduced to current issues of adult education in Lower Saxony and Celle. The participants of the seminar discussed areas of cooperation in the field of adult education, first of all from the point of view of the possibility of borrowing German experience in the field of adult education, where specialized institutes of adult education (VHS) have existed for more than 100 years, and actual assistance for Sumy State University in wartime conditions.

The result of the seminar was the signing of the Memorandum on long-term cooperation between Sumy State University and VHS Celle in the field of lifelong education development.

It is worth noting that VHS Celle has been cooperating with the Adult Education Center “Education for Life” operating in Sumy State University for 2 years. In particular, in 2021, the educational festival “The art of learning together” was launched, in 2022, with the help of a project from the VHS of Celle, a joint educational course on psychological first aid was implemented, and a classroom was equipped in the bomb shelter of the Sumy State University Congress Center, in which you can conduct classes during air alarms. VHS Celle was created after the Second World War as a response to the challenge of the need for a new education for the post-war reconstruction of Germany.