Euro-Atlantic integration and Ukrainian youth. Opinions and problems
Euro-Atlantic integration and Ukrainian youth. Opinions and problems
N.
Kovalenko
DonSUM
A.
Schelkova
One of the
determinant national foreign policy priorities is European and Euroatlantic
integration. Relationship between Ukraine and NATO was established in 1991,
when Ukraine proclaimed sovereignty right after the fall of the USSR and joined
the Council of Northenatlantic Collaboration, later renamed The Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council (EAPC).
Main
organizations which make an activity in this range in Ukraine are: Kyiv
National Centre of Euroatlantic integration; Scientific-Informational of
International security and Euroatlantic integration in Donetsk National
University; Scientific Informational-Analytic Centre for NATO of Prycarpathsky
National University of V. Stephanyc and such centers over the Ukraine.
Atlantic
Counsel of Ukraine (ACU), established in 1995, was one of the first public
organizations which, according to its statute, “is engaged in questions of
progressive integration of Ukraine into European and Euroatlantic structures of
collaboration and security”. ATA comprises two youth structures: Youth Atlantic
Treaty Association (YATA) and Association of Young Political Leaders.
Official
representative of YATA in Ukraine is Youth Centre of Atlantic Council in
Ukraine (YCACU), public organization established within the framework of Youth
Program of Ukrainian Atlantic Council with a purpose of spreading among the
youth the information and propaganda the ideas of Ukraine’s integration into
European and Euroatlantic structures. The main working activities of Youth
Centre ACU are:
-
informing
and popularizing of the main objectives of the centre, including working with
the media;
-
contribution
to researching work, organization and consulting work regarding formation of
political, economical, scientific, technical priorities as well as strategic
interests of Ukraine.
For the
clarification of situation around Euroatlantic integration let’s compare some
points of view on this problem. I took results of monitoring was carried out
jointly by Scientific-Informational of International security and Euroatlantic
integration in Donetsk National University and Scientific
Informational-Analytic Centre for NATO of Prycarpathsky National University of
V. Stephanyc in September 2008.
The researches
were conducted in the framework of project “The development of methodological
principles and organizational activities of informing the public of Donetsk and
Ivano-Frankovsk regions in the questions of Euroatlantic integration of
Ukraine”.
The aims of
researching were:
- to state the relations of
respondents to the future international status of Ukraine;
- to compare the peculiarity
of the perception of Euroatlantic integration in mentally different regions.
The results of
monitoring are presented on diagrams below
Pic.
1.”What international status, for your opinion, is the best for Ukraine? ”
1.
A
member of NATO
2.
A
neutral state
3.
A
member of a security union with Russia and other UIS states
4.
“Nuclear
state”
5.
A
regional leader in a structure like GUAM.
So, as we can
see, just 12% of Donetsk respondents support the future status of Ukraine as
member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in the Ivano-Frankovsk region
this number is larger mare than at 3.
Our opinion
changes from East to West. It is conditioned by several causes:
1) differences in mentality
and historical or cultural development;
2) low level of information
about NATO
and others.
But despite of
all the differences it is real possibility of educational influence for the
formation of the objectives about North Atlantic Treaty organization among
Ukrainian youth.
Literature
1.
O. Hryhorieva. Euroatlantic processes as the young people see
them. // UKRAINE-NATO. – 3 (19) 2007 – p. 72-80
2.
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