Between the 14th and 19th September an Education Committee from the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture arrived in Ukraine for the purpose of discussing and negotiating the development of a teacher training project.
Between the 14th and 19th September an Education Committee from the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture arrived in Ukraine for the purpose of discussing and negotiating the development of a teacher training project. The project discussed was based on the Risale-i Nur and was titled “Moral Values Education for Pre-Service Teachers”. Meetings and discussions with potential partners for this project were held in Pereyaslav University, Lviv Islamic Cultural Center, the Ivan Franko Museum, Lviv Politeknik University, and Lviv Ivan Franko University. In addition, the Committee from IFSC also paid a visit to neighboring Belarus and took part in meetings at Belarus State University, Belarus Institute Of Modern Knowledge, and finally the National Library.
14th-15th September 2018, Pereyaslav University, Kiev, Ukraine.
Between the 14th and 15th of September, IFSC Executive President Said Yüce along with delegation members Dr. Osman Yapar and Hossein Turner attended meetings with the Rector of Pereyaslav University, Prof. Dr. Viktor Kotsur. Also present was the Deacon of the Education Faculty Prof. Dr. Nataliya Ihnatenko, and International Academic Relationships Co-ordinator Dr. Oksana Kovtun as well as other academicians from the university.
The meeting concluded with everybody agreeing that youths and young people impacted by the materialistic forces of the current century as well as the weakening of their character would best be suited towards a path of moral education. In the presentations that took place, teachers and professors from the university discussed ideas for the implementation of a symposium based on moral values education. In addition, they gave presentations about various potential international projects that covered a range of different topics.
The students and academicians of Pereyaslav University were very interested and curious about Turkish culture and stated that the establishment of a Ukraine-Turkey Cultural Center for the mutual learning of each others’ languages would be beneficial for both nations. One academician stated that when he came to Istanbul he found that in fact there were many books that were part of the Risale-i Nur and that there were very few translations published in a language he could understand. Therefore, he said, that if Turkish is learned by both the academicians and the students, then they will surely be able to understand the Risale-i Nur in its fullest sense.
Also the “Moral Values Education for Pre-Service Teachers” project designed by our Foundation was presented before the audience and the contents and subjects within the course was confirmed.
16th-18th September 2018, Ivan Franco University, Lviv, Ukraine.
On the 16th of September, the IFSC Committee visited the historical city of Lviv in western Ukraine. The first visit was at the Islamic Cultural Center which was named after the muslim scholar and Qur’an exegete, Muhammad Assad. He was born in Lviv into a Jewish family but later found guidance through discovering Islam and became a famous scholar. The Committee also met with Dr. Muhammad Emin who was responsible for running the Center. Dr Emin expressed his fondness and enthusiasm for Turkey and its people.
Afterwards, the team went to visit the former house of one of the leading scholars and writers of Ukraine, Ivan Franko. He had lived there for 14 years and after his death the place was turned into the Ivan Franco Museum. Whilst listening to the museum curator describe the life of Ivan Franko, the Committee learned that he had written a book about the Prophet Moses (AS) and a copy was subsequently given as a gift to the IFSC. The curators and experts residing at the museum expressed their sincere wishes to pursue joint projects with the IFSC which included a desire to come to Turkey and meet again in-person.
The next meeting for the Committee was at Lviv Polytechnic University, which seemed to be the busiest and most populous university in the city. The team met with the head of department of Law and Pyschology Dr. Yuriy Kozlovskyy as well as the Dean of the Educational Center Prof. Dr. Nataliya Hots. They discussed the importance of establishing moral values education initiatives to resolve current world psychological and social problems afflicting youth and students. Following this, the IFSC presented the Lviv academicians with some translations from the Risale-i Nur.
The third meeting took place in the Ivan Franco National University of Lviv, with the Vice-Rector for International Co-operation and Academic Affairs, Prof. Maria Zubrystska. She mentioned in the meeting that the university was highly esteemed and considered a very successful university at a national level. Said Yuce talked about the importance of balancing both the scientific and spiritual aspects of the human being when it comes to education. He used the analogy of two wings that enable a bird to fly, with the spirituality and scientific aspects of knowledge representing each wing. Without both such wings, humanity cannot ascend to its potential. At the conclusion of the meeting, a Ukranian language translation of the biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was presented to the Vice-Rector.
18th-19th September 2018, Minsk, Belarus.
On the 18th of September, the team from the IFSC landed in Minsk with the first visit being to the Islamic Cultural Center that was formerly opened by President Erdogan.
On the 19th, a meeting took place with the Assistant Manager of the National Library, Dr. Aliaxander Susha. The team was shown the displays of old parchments and copies of the Holy Qur’an, Bible and Torah in the library archives. After informing the Committee of the various cultural and social activities held in the library, the IFSC formally handed the library translated copies from the Risale-i Nur in the languages of Russian and Belarussian. Following this, a short visit was paid to the Institute of Modern Knowledge.
Whilst meeting with the Institute Deputy Manager Mikhail Ivanovich KOZLOVICH and with Valery Ivanovich DUNAY, Said Yuce explained that “Just as a letter cannot be without a scribe and just as a beautiful piece of art cannot be without an artist, so too the universe and the world cannot possibly be without a Creator”. He further stated that if people internalize this consciousness then it can ensure they are fully aware of the spiritual and social problems that currently inflict humanity.
The final meeting in Minsk took place at Belarus State University. The attendees included Prof. Dr. Vasily Safonov, Deacon of the Social and Cultural Communications Faculty Prof. Dr. Vazhnik Sergey Aleksandrovich, International Academic Relations department representative Roman Novikov as well as other academicians.
The university is officially considered to be amongst the 2% of the best universities in the world particularly with respect to practical and technical sciences. Professor Safonov stated that some innovative techniques for treating cancer had been developed at the university along with some instruments for usage in space and satellite applications. Said Yuce of the IFSC discussed the importance of integrating moral values education into both scientific and humanities curricula, expressing that humanity is experiencing problems as a result of materialism and to alleviate these social and spiritual problems there should be some form of moral and ethical curricula development.
Professor Safonov stated at the meeting that this year they had met with the head of the university to discuss the possibility of pursuing such projects and that he would be keen to pursue such joint education initiatives and academic studies with the IFSC in the near future. Presents and gifts from Turkey were then awarded to the Belarus State University representatives, these included translations of parts of the Risale-i Nur in Russian and Belarussian.
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