Educational Activities of the Women’s Society «Ukrainian Women’s Union» (1917-1938)

Abstract

The article reveals one of the most important pages of the «Ukrainian Women’s Union» society – educational activities among women and youth in Ukraine. Educational activities were carried out in the following areas: opening educational and specialised courses for women and youth; lecturing; publishing magazines; organising kindergartens; opening libraries, choirs, folk dance ensembles; holding folk festivals, evenings, concerts and theatre performances. The main educational objectives of the society were to raise the cultural and spiritual level of young people and to spread education among Ukrainian women.

It is noted that one of the main activities of the educational activities of the «Ukrainian Women’s Union» was a training course for organisers and instructors of the society, organised in 1937 in Lviv, the main tasks of which were to prepare cadets for organisational, cultural, educational and economic work in the branches and circles of the society, as well as for their educational work among children in extracurricular clubs.

It is noted that a significant contribution to the development of educational work among women and youth in Galicia was made by individual branches of the «Ukrainian Women’s Union», in particular, Ukrainian women in the cities of Rivne, Radekhiv, Kalush, Stanislaviv, Halych, Chortkiv, and others. The role of the magazines «Women’s Bulletin» and «Women’s Fate» in spreading the educational activities and ideas of feminism of the society is determined.

Particular attention is paid to the Ukrainian Women’s Congress of 1934, which called on Ukrainians to unite nationally and create the «World Ukrainian Women’s Union». It is established that these events contributed to raising the educational and cultural level of Ukrainian women and youth, encouraged them to self-development and voluntary involvement in public work.