For four days, starting from June 12, 2025, a summer school organised by the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University took place on the picturesque Svityaz bank.
The event was held within the framework of the "EU Sports Policy" European project with the support of the Erasmus+ programme, Jean Monnet direction (grant agreement No. 101126628).
The school brought together more than 70 young people from Ukrainian universities: Yuriy Fedkovych from Chernivtsi National University, Ivan Boberskyi from Lviv State University of Physical Culture and Lesya Ukrainka VNU. Among the participants there were bachelors, masters and postgraduates representing different academic disciplines but having a common interest in the issues of European policy, sports and sustainable development.
The event programme included a number of interactive sessions and thematic discussions dedicated to the role of sport in integration processes, issues of environmental responsibility and social cohesion through sport. Special attention was paid to the challenges facing the EU candidate countries, as well as how sports policy can support democratic values and social inclusion.
The teaching staff of the Summer School included thespecialists from Ukraine and Poland. The educational component of the event was headed by the Acting Rector of the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Doctor of Physical Education and Sports Anatolii Tsos, who is also the project coordinator. The team was also joined by Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Fitness and Cyclic Sports of the University Svitlana Indyka, who provided the methodological and practical part of the programme. The international dimension of the school was presented by Jacek Wonszczyk, Professor at Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa (Poland), and the economic and analytical perspective was added by Marta Sydoruk, Candidate of Economic Sciences, an analyst at the Lesya Ukrainka University Rector’s Office.
The speeches mixed with outdoor activities, sports events, and informal meetings that facilitated the exchange of ideas, networking, and the emergence of new inter-institutional initiatives. As a result, all school participants received certificates certifying their active participation and successful completion of the programme.
It was also symbolic that the training took place in the University’s Health and Sports Centre as the combination of intellectual work and physical activity emphasizing the school’s main message: sport is not only about the body, but also about values, partnership, and the future of the European community.
