During February – March 2011 students and teachers of Chernovtsy ORT Jewish school #41 participated in the project “Crimea – Bukovyna – Transit. Tolerance through the youth local research”. The project was developed by the Center of the Regional Development “Top-Kaya” to promote tolerance at the school environment.
Research groups, created from senior pupils and teachers, were aimed at different investigations and deep immersion into the ethnic features of the communities. The subject of the investigations was rather broad: from research national holidays’ traditions, children interrelations within the educational establishment up to the history and symbols of family tree research and other interesting subjects.
9th and 11th grade students together with History teacher Irina Chernetskaya investigated what Jewish communities and organizations are in their city, what influence they have on the history and modern life, and what is the attitude of Chernivtsi’ citizens to the ethnic minorities of the city. Children visited cultural identity communities and museums, attended annual culture F. Goethe Festival, investigated the main newspapers, got to know about born in Chernivtsi outstanding singer I.Shmidt and writer Roza Auslander, interviewed the representatives of the national communities and conducted a poll among the city’s citizens. (80% of people think well of the national minorities, 3% - think bad; 20% - interested about their neighbors ethnic origin, for other 75% - it is all the same, the main thing is, the people should be good).
Students concluded their investigation by the quotation of the famous German publicist G. Geuzen: “Chernovtsy was the city, where cabmen disputed about Karl Kraus, where footpaths were swept by bunches of roses and where were more bookshops then cafes. Here, in one society easily felt themselves a Ukrainian, a German, a Romanian and a Jew. Here one could speak Ukrainian, German, Polish and was understood…”
