On December 25, the Zaporozhye «Mazal Tov» JCC hold the awarding ceremony for the winners of the regional competition of the children art works «I’m looking through the window». Tkuma Center has also took part in the arrangement of the competition and awarded some of the participants special prizes.

Homeland is the place where you were born and grown up, or have spent the greater part of your life. Who lived here before? The east and the west: was it always like this?  Whose house is in the main crossroads? Sooner or later every one of us comes up to such questions. ?t would be great if  the answers were found promptly or from those people who could narrate of the past of the lands which are so familiar to you.

Several years ago in Zaporozhye region the “History of the home land” course was included in the school curriculum. The famous Ukrainian historian and academician Dr.Turchenko F. G.  took up the writing of the manuals.  Today, such manuals and teaching aids are published for the students of the elementary and secondary schools and each of the region’s schools deliver the course in the history of the Zaporozhye region.

 This discipline encouraged the Director of «Mazal Tov» JCC, Inesa Nosenko, to announce the regional competition of the children art works «I’m looking through the window» which was organized due to the contribution of   “Joint” within a framework of «International Development Project».

At the competition a lot of scientific and research works, as well as literary and art works were presented. To announce the results of December, Inesa Nosenko have called the first meeting of the jury which included Dr. Turchenko Fedir, ZSU Pro-rector and Academician; Mykola Frolov, candidate of Historic sciences, Head of ZOIPPO; Dr. Igor Shchupak, Tkuma Central Ukrainian Holocaust Foundation Director; Anastasiya Sklyaruk, Head of the regional department on youth and sport affairs and her colleague, Olesya Sungurova; Tetyana Klekho,  representative of the “Florence”public organization. The meeting has also hosted Anatoliy Shvel’d,  Zaporozhian “Hesed Ar’ye” Director and volunteers who helped to estimate the works.

The guests were acquainted with the activity of JCC: they inspected the drawings and pictures exposed in the Center halls; attended the well-equipped training hall and playing rooms for children, talked to the pensioners, participants of the rehabilitation program.

At the beginning of the meeting Inesa Nosenko thanked the guests for their contribution to the children’s understanding of real “alive” history of Zaporozhian lands. It is a really painstaking work for both the members of the jury and for the competition participants.

History is a complex science, but it always begins with the History of Motherland, though not of the whole country history but of a city, town, village you will always have at your heart. Everyone agreed with this statement. Fedir Grygorovich Turchenko has also stressed that for a long time there hasn’t been any “History of homeland” course of the in Ukraine. And this course has to be indisputably included in the school program, because neighboring relationships can’t be grounded on the love to your nation only. The attitude to your homeland, culture and history of your forefathers is very important.

Mr. Frolov M.O stressed that such competitions should be of usual basis because they help to develop our imagination and concretize the knowledge on this or that historical layer. Secondly, the history of the homeland has really become systematic work, because it is an important issue and “important issues are settled quickly or aren’t settled at all”. As a conclusion, Mykola Olexandrovich noticed that some schools are trying to integrate this course into the History of Ukraine general course, but this process should be halted and the subject should be taught separately. That’s why a new text book based on the specific teacher’s requirements has been recently worked out.

“This is the case when the idea becomes material, doctor Shchupak noted and we can only agree with it. He considers this competition to be the start of solving the problem of synchronization the knowledge on the history of homeland. In this context a very important question arouses- the question of tolerance as the history of each region of Ukraine is the history of different nations and peoples. Tkuma Central Ukrainian Holocaust Foundation Director, Dr. Igor Shchupak informed of the announcement of the new International Competition of Creative works called “Lessons of Holocaust – lessons of tolerance”. As the main subjects of both competitions touch upon the international contacts and Holocaust events in the region, Dr.Shchupak emphasized the necessity of cooperation between the juries of the Zaporozhye JCC competition and Tkuma Center “Lessons of Holocaust – the lessons of tolerance” creative works competition.

Ludmila Korotkova from HNRBC said that most of substantial and comprehensive works come from villages. Since December many works have been received and many still were coming, for this reason the deadline for acceptance of the works was set on December, 10. Inesa Nosenko also noted that all the works were of different levels and approaches, even the drawings differed considerably in conception, but to give at least a little prize to every participant would be great. Thus, it is necessary to review the budget of the competition and work with involving of sponsors. Members of jury surely agreed, as this work is really invaluable. The suggestions were made to invite the creativity field specialists to the jury staff, as well as to place the competition materials on the web-sites and submit some materials for personal consideration and scientific work of the jury members. The issue of publishing the whole collection aroused the hottest disputes as each investigation and every drawing is “putting something personal to the history”. What and how to publish, which works should be only quoted and which given completely; whether the drawings should be colored or black and white – all these are minor details  to be solved gradually but the main conception of the collection has been outlined and the preliminary date of its issue set out for September 1, 2006.

On December, 10 the jury received 237 works for examining and started the work. Each of the children’s works was properly evaluated. Deep gratitude should be expressed to the parents and teachers who together with their children and pupils actively studied the history of their land.

And finally - the awarding ceremony! On December 25, the organizers, jury and the participants gathered to award the best of the best in Zaporozhye JCC. With the beginning of the ceremony the JCC director, Inesa Nosenko greeted all the guests with Hanukkah. She offered participants to dream together, because children’s dreams are already realized in drawings, scientific, research and ecological projects   sent to the competition. Inesa Isaakovna wished the little creators to live in harmony and love and never stop to study the history of Zaporozhian region.

Some competition works concerned directly the Holocaust tragedy, and they were honored with diplomas and prizes from the Tkuma Center. Maksim Golovan’ (the city of Zaporozhye, “Khabad” school) wrote a composition, “Jewish Community of Zaporozhye”, regarding the history of Jews of Zaporozhye lands from the middle of 18^th century till our time. As an appendix he placed a picture of the existing memorial to the tragedy victims and a project of the renewed obelisk. Ganna Gozman (“Khabad” school) analyzed the attitude of Soviet authorities and Nazis during and after the WWII towards the Jews from Zaporozhye region and makes inquires about the places of fascist extermination of Jews on different sites of the region: Zaporozhye, Melitopol’, Berdyansk, etc. Ludmila Kripak (Velika Bilozerka village, Zaporizh’ye region, HNRBC), Victoriya Nikolayenko (Veluka Bilozerka village, Zaporizhye region, NVK? 1 and Anastasiya Suslova (Velika Bilozerka village, Zaporozhye region, HNRBC) presented their joint research work. Their scientific research and their parents’ and relatives’ assistance helped to discover one more fact of the rescue of the Jews. According to this data the documents on awarding the “The Righteous of the World” title to one of the girls’ grand-grand-mother are being prepared now. Young researches have also received diplomas and presents from the Tkuma Center.

Each of the works actually got the appraisal. Apart from diploma recipients and laureates awarded, the jury decided to award six authors of the projects with scholarships for realization of their plans. All the children were happy to take part in such an important matter – study of the history of the homeland and their work was properly estimated.