Carpathian school: look to the future of non-formal education in Ukraine

Non-formal education is a social phenomenon that actively complements the traditional educational and scientific activities of classical educational universities. The "Third mission" of universities - education outside the classroom - is an actively developing movement in advanced countries, providing individuals with opportunities for self-development, self-realization, gaining new knowledge and practical experience. Understanding the "third" mission is an important component of success, as the social activities significantly increase the competitiveness of educational institutions in the educational services market. At this difficult time, when Ukrainian educational institutions are recovering from the Cowid-19 pandemic and Russian troops are deliberately destroying key civilian infrastructure, educators are gaining a unique opportunity to test new ways of transmitting knowledge, skills and attitudes. Non-formal education has an opportunity to implement multidisciplinary knowledge and skills directly in communities, shaping this way the values of a democratic society. This publication aims at assessing the achievements of the Carpathian School educational project and discussing ways to further develop multidisciplinary programs in response to the social demands of local communities.

The issues of non-formal education are extremely important for Ukraine, especially in martial law, when uncertainty in the formation of the social consciousness of citizens is exacerbated by global political, economic and environmental challenges.

The case study of the International Carpathian School gives the practice of organizing non-formal education. The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv together with partner universities, NGOs and National Nature Parks, organized the School on the border of Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions, in the centre of the Hutsul land. The existing network of universities, strengthened by public organizations, government and business institutions, has good prospects for establishing educational programs to support sustainable development (SD) in the Carpathian region. Authors state that non-formal education has effective tools for the formation of worldview principles of the XXI century, professional orientation and socially responsible social behaviour of the young generation