UkraineBlog2006

About me Clare Twelvetrees

Hi, I am Clare Twelvetrees and I might be the last person who participated in this trip to post to the blog! (although Ling I can't see you anywhere?)

I am the International Relations Manager in the Environment Agency England and Wales and manage our programme of capacity building projects with sister organisations overseas. I was lucky enough to get involved in this visit at a fairly late stage and happened to be in East Ukraine with Groundwork UK the week before it took place.

During my two and a half weeks in Ukraine I experienced the East, South and the capital which was a fascinating contrast. To start with, air quality in Mariupol in the East left a lot to be desired but I was impressed by the regeneration in the centre of Donetsk and, being Welsh, the seemingly respected  legacy of John Hughes.

Kyiv was a delight and our programme with the 21st Century Trust an excellent learning experience. As the days passed, the complexities of Ukraine seemed to grow and it was like putting the bits of information we acquired into an ever increasing jigsaw.

We were also lucky enough to visit the Crimea which gave us a glimpse of the mechanisms of regional automomy, the relationship with Russia and the position of the Tatars. All whilst enjoying the mountainous surroundings, the coastline and dipping in the warm Black Sea. Our last couple of days were spent back in Kyiv meeting more experts and consolidating what we learnt. Since returning I have been working hard on developing an enviornmental project in Ukraine with some of the contacts I have made there. So watch this space.

About me: Daniel Washburn

Post-soviet researcher and King George VI Fellow at Cumberland Lodge.  I conducted recent ethnographic work in the Russian city of Samara, which looked into the relations between Orthodoxy and foreign missionary projects.  This research is the basis for my PhD (Anthropology, LSE).  I hope to have completed the dissertation by mid 2007.  My work at the Lodge involves conference organization, playing host to various groups, typing away on my dissertation, and generally enjoying life in this beautiful (and formerly royal) house.  I am also involved in a project to send English Teachers to China.

In the off chance that readers of this blog may be interested -- my forthcoming conferences at Cumberland Lodge are:

Religious Tradition and Innovation in the Post-soviet world: a case of revival or rejection? (31 January 2006 - 2 February 2007)

The World's View of America (13 - 15 April 2007)

For info about these conferences please get in touch with the Lodge.         

The opportunity to visit Ukraine with the 21st Century Trust and the John Smith Fellowship was a fabulous thrill, a fast-paced expansion of knowledge, and a needed reminder of the inspired thoughts and masterful creativity that illuminates Europe's East.

It also gave me a chance to update myself with the latest on Orthodoxy in Ukraine.

About me – Alastair Nicolson

I am Alastair Nicolson, Head of Strategic Planning and Research at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Economic and Community Development agency for the north and west of Scotland. My interest in this tour is to find out how Ukraine has changed since the Orange Revolution, what people’s views are on European integration and how its relationship with Russia is evolving. 

I am also particularly interested in learning more about the economy of a country which used to be the breadbasket of the Soviet empire.  Available evidence suggests that in the years following independence its main sources of wealth creation were pillaged by Oligarchs. However, more democracy and more freedom often lead to an increase in confidence – a necessary prerequisite for economic development.  The country has a population of almost 50m people in a very strategic location, but very little is known about it.  I hope this tour will help to change that.

About me: Katie Allen

Business reporter at the Guardian newspaper, covering the media sector. Hoping this study tour will help me gauge how much press freedom has progressed since the Orange Revolution as well as how good economic prospects are for Ukraine. Especially grateful for the chance to speak to journalists and students involved in the Orange Revolution and get their take on the current political situation. Are they disappointed by the political turmoil over the summer or is such a situation almost inevitable in a fledgling democracy? Keen to find out how politicians and business owners
are attracting foreign direct investment and which sectors are benefiting most.

On a longer-term basis, hoping to meet Ukrainians - such as journalists and policymakers - engaged in progress towards a more democratic society and to stay in touch after the visit. Finally, I am hoping the tour will deepen my understanding of Ukrainian politics so that I can follow events there more actively and consider ways they might be covered in the UK media.

Hello from John Edward

Maria has suggested a few opening words, so here goes.

I work in the Scotland office of the European Parliament, so this is a real busman's holiday for me.

I confess to knowing little about our destination other than what past history and recent news has taught me, but obviously its intercation with the EU as a possible future applicant and neighbourhood partner is fascinating.  I managed to download a couple of podcasts from www.ukrainematters.org and hope the 'plane allows me time to hear them...

Likewise, the involvement of new media and the general public in popular democracy in a way that is rarely seen in western Europe.

My background is either representing Scotland in Brussels, or the EU in Scotland - so this will be an interesting take on national identity and international interaction.

Have attended an inital 21st Centruy Trust event in Kligentahl back in the mid-90's, as well as helping organise one in Scotland House in Brussels.  Some colleagues also play an active part in the John Smith trust, and I attended Chris Patten's lecture in Edinburgh to the Fellows earlier this summer.  What a good combination of organisations..!

About the study tour

A little background by way of explaining more about this blog. Earlier this year, knowing that I’d be coming on a study tour of with the 21st Century Trust and the John Smith Memorial Trust, I had the bright idea of organising a group blog to coincide with the trip. The idea was to create another forum to extend the discussions beyond the meeting rooms, and to involve other people in them. We’ll be meeting some very well placed and informed people here in , and I thought it would be a good idea to share some of what we learn. The main idea behind the study tour is to create and strengthen international links, so what better way to continue that than with a blog?

About this blog

This blog has been created to mark the September/October 2006 study tour of Ukraine organised by the 21st Century Trust in collaboration with the John Smith Memorial Trust and in partnership with Asquith and Granovski Associates. (The views expressed in this blog don't represent those of the organisations involved with the study tour. They're simply the thoughts and impressions of the contributors.)

This blog is tied to a one-off event. So it's probably going to be live for a fairly short time.  The idea is to capture and discuss the thoughts and impressions of people involved with this study tour, and to note down some of what we learn for others to share. And discuss and dispute.

I've been to quite a few 21st Century Trust events, and they are life-changing affairs. There are quite a few non-profits and foundations out there that promote high brow discussions of serious issues by earnest young over-achievers. The Trust is rather different. First off, they don't let you off with a forty eight hour think-in punctuated by bouts of Blackberryitis. To become a Trust fellow, you have to spend eight or nine days holed away in an Oxford college or a German castle with twenty people, a fresh daily supply of learned experts, and no chance of escape. You really, really get to know the other Fellows through sharing rooms, meals and intense political discussion for about eighteen hours a day. It could be hell. It's not. Somehow, the Trust has developed a magical algorithm for sorting through the CVs of its accomplished applicants to pick the fun ones.  And the impeccable chairing, coaxing and finessing of John Lotherington, our doughty study tour leader, should mean that the trip goes smoothly in every possible way.

We'll be arriving in Kiev on Monday, 25 September and having several days of lectures and discussions with ministers, MPs, journalists, diplomats and political scientists. There'll also be a day of work-shadowing John Smith Fellows and other Ukrainians that match the professional interests of each participant. And we'll have a weekend in Yalta for a visit to the Livadia Palace where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met for the Yalta Conference. It's going to be a fantastic experience.

So do check back into this blog over the next couple of weeks. We'll be meeting some very informed people (and I type very fast so take very comprehensive notes!) and hopefully we'll have plenty of posts from participants on the study tour and others associated with the Trust. And if you're interested in taking part in the discussion, drop me an email at maria dot farrell at gmail dot com.

Of course, if you want to know about Ukraine, nothing beats talking to a proper Ukrainian. Here are some Ukrainian blogs written in English that I've been following for the last year:

CyberCossack
Orange Ukraine, and
Neeka's Backlog