TEAM-EU-UA in Action: Orienteering Brings Schoolchildren and Partners Together (03.04.2026, Chernivtsi, Ukraine)
April 3, 2026, a sports and educational event took place at the Hlynitsky Secondary School (Grades 1–2) as part of the project “Development of Team Spirit for the Implementation and Incorporation of EU Values in Ukraine” (TEAM-EU-UA), co-funded by the European Union.
The event aimed to promote sports, a healthy lifestyle, and physical activity through orienteering, as well as to develop team spirit and support the integration of EU values into Ukrainian society.
The event was organized and conducted by representatives of the school: Principal Georgiy Tkachuk and Physical Education Teacher’s Assistant Oleksandr Bulygin.
The project coordinator, Candidate of Sciences in Physical Education and Sports, Associate Professor, and head of the NGO YOUTH. SCIENCE. SPORTS. HEALTHY MOVEMENT OF UKRAINE Iaroslav Galan emphasized: “Orienteering today is not only an interesting and exciting sport for schoolchildren, but also an important tool for developing team spirit, endurance, mutual support, and the ability to work together. It is through such activities that we integrate European values into the Ukrainian environment, raising children in the spirit of cooperation, respect, unity, and friendship”.
Project partners actively participated in the event: Ukrainian School Sports Federation (Olena Zernyk, Olena Negoda, Anna Hreba), Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko (Zhanna Chernyakova, Svitlana Hvozdetska), as well as European School Sports Federation (ESSF) (Miloš ZIRIĆ).
The event was attended by schoolchildren, for whom orienteering courses had been prepared.
The winners and prize-winners of the competition received commemorative medals and souvenirs bearing the TEAM-EU-UA project logo as recognition for their results and teamwork. For the participants, this became a special memory of the event and motivation to continue practicing sports and developing team spirit. The school principal and the physical education teacher’s assistant also received project awards for supporting the initiative and contributing to the organization of the event.
Special thanks for the support and assistance in organizing the event go to the head of the Chernivtsi Regional Branch of the NGO “Ukrainian Orienteering Federation“, Ivan Tumak.
It is very important to us that international partners support such initiatives and contribute to the development of children and youth in Ukraine. It is in such joint projects that the true power of partnership is born, uniting people around goodness, sports, and shared values. And every child’s smile at the finish line is the best confirmation that we are moving in the right direction.
Prepared using materials from the project website TEAM-EU-UA