The Institute for Regional Development, o.p.s., as a sending organisation within the European Voluntary Service, facilitated one volunteer from the Czech Republic to participate in a volunteer project called Seize the Opportunity III at the Ukrainan Cultural Centre.
The project took place from 5 August 2014 to 4 August 2015.
All information and photos from the volunteer service of sl. Veronika Váňová can be found here: http://nikanacestach.blogspot.cz/
Ukrainian Cultural Centre, Tallinn, Estonia
The Ukrainian Cultural Centre (UKC) emphasizes the preservation of cultural heritage and the teaching of art, history and culture through the use of medieval methods and techniques. Sl. Veronika Váňová thus got a great opportunity to gain new artistic experience.
UKC is an organization open to people of all faiths. It cooperates closely with the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Monastery in Tallinn.
The UKC focuses on promoting Ukrainian culture in Estonia. They strive to create a place where local Estonian Ukrainians can preserve their language, culture and traditions. At the same time, they strive to promote the Ukrainian way of life. The organization serves both as a community center and as a Sunday school.
As they preserve ancient traditions and vanishing medieval techniques, they regularly hold seminars and courses to teach participants many different medieval arts and crafts. Courses and seminars are usually organized for children and adults. These include papermaking, calligraphy, pottery, weaving, icon painting and traditional woodworking. Sunday school for children is held every Saturday morning. Every year the UKC also actively participates in the Tallinn Medieval Festival and organises ethnographic exhibitions.
There are three permanent staff members at UKC:
- Director and Resident Bookmaker: designer and artist Anatoly Lyutyuk, who founded the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in 2002. Anatoly Lyutyuk is a distinguished artist who has been repeatedly awarded for his work. He has been awarded not only by the Estonian government, but also by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who named him the State Artist of Ukraine.
- Illustrator and Resident Papermaker: Nestor Ljutjuk, who studied graphic arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts and illustration and typography at the Ecole Supérieure Estienne in Paris. He mainly illustrates children’s books.
- Manager: supervisor, Bogdan Ljutjuk graduated from the Estonian Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of renowned graphic designer Aarne Mesikäpp.
- The UKC is also assisted by writers, calligraphers, designers, etc.
Web link: http://www.ukk.ee/en.
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is located on the northern coast of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland. Tallinn is an important industrial, political and cultural centre and port. The population was 416,144 as of 1 January 2012. In addition to the native Estonian language, Russian, Finnish and English are widely spoken. Tallinn Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Tallinn was also awarded European Capital of Culture in 2011.
The Ukrainian Cultural Centre is housed in a beautiful 14th century building. The building is located inside the medieval walls of Tallinn’s old town.
The job description of the volunteer was:
Participate in all UKC activities – studying ancient techniques, medieval arts and crafts including paper making, calligraphy, book arts, pottery, weaving, icon painting and traditional woodworking. Participate in various cultural events organised by the centre. Involvement in various restoration works in the woodwork workshop or in the design of the herb garden in the centre’s grounds.
Working hours – 6 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Opportunities and possibilities for a volunteer
- The chance to meet many different people who come to the UKC every day – we find artists, journalists, people with an interest in art, history and culture;
- the opportunity to meet new friends (whether they be volunteers from other countries or local people);
- a chance to experience a new culture and learn a new language. The volunteer has the opportunity to get acquainted not only with Estonian but also Ukrainian culture and to learn either Estonian or Russian;
- the opportunity to improve their English;
- gain new learning opportunities – broaden their horizons about art, culture, history, nature and philosophy;
- gain great cross-cultural experiences and much, much more.
Date: August 5, 2014 to August 4, 2015.
Practicalities:
- The volunteer’s travel expenses were 90% covered for the round trip.
- Accommodation, meals and local transport were fully covered.
- The volunteer was paid an allowance of 85 EUR/month.
- She also received a free Estonian language course.
- Including fully paid travel health insurance.
