On November 23, 2023, the 1st Ukrainian-Polish Climate Forum «What can a person do to prevent climate change?» was held online within the framework of the project «Global responsible EU leadership: climate change, environmental protection and humanitarian aid» (EU_LEAD) with the support of the Erasmus+ programme, Jean Monnet.
The event began with welcome speeches by EU_LEAD project participants – Professor Yaryna Turchyn, Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Professor Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Republic of Poland. Professor Stanislaw Czachorowski, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Professor Renata Augustyniak-Tunowska, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, and Iryna Bilyk, founder of the eco-brand «Bilka – Green thoughts in action», shared their knowledge at the expert panel. Attention was focused on the issues of e-waste, Zero Waste philosophy and water ecosystems in the Anthropocene era.
However, the key issue was the ecocide in Ukraine, provoked by Russian aggression, and its consequences for the environment. Therefore, in the resolution the participants called for the strengthening of the reaction of the world community in order to counter the ecocide that the Russian Federation is carrying out against Ukraine and the civilized world, as well as to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in all possible ways for the victory of Ukraine and the end of the war, which generates considerable challenges for humanity and the climate. It is significant that in their presentation, students of Lviv Academic Gymnasium demonstrated how we can help the defenders of Ukraine by following ecological trends, for example, reusing materials for making trench candles.
The EU_LEAD project team expresses its gratitude to all the numerous participants of the event (115 people in general) – teachers, lecturers, students from Ukraine and Poland, as well as public representatives. Special gratitude for the support of the initiative goes to Lesia Yukhman, director of the Lviv Academic Gymnasium at Lviv Polytechnic National University, as well as to Olha Sych, director of the School Complex with the Ukrainian language of Instruction in Górowo Iławeckie.
The event was organized by the EU_LEAD team – Professor Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk, Professor Yaryna Turchyn, Associate Professor Olha Ivasechko, Associate Professor Oleh Tsebenko and student Yuliia Vaida.
More detailed information about EU_LEAD can be found on the project website on the Lviv Polytechnic Portal.
