Rebuild Ukraine: Economic Textbook Reaches Young Ukrainians Abroad  

The Ukrainian e-textbook on economics ЕКОНОМІКА для 8 (9) класів is now made available for the international educational community by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute and the Kyiv-based Bendukidze Free Market Center.  

Every day more and more Ukrainian children who have escaped the horrors of the Russian invasion are resuming school far away from their homeland. School communities, educators and civil society groups across European countries are mobilizing teaching and learning resources so that the Ukrainian refugee youth can continue their education.

Economic textbook

In support of this cause, the Ukrainian language economic textbook ЕКОНОМІКА для 8 (9) класів is now made available for schools and educators who will be teaching Ukrainian children across Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, and other countries. 

This cutting-edge textbook, adapted by the Bendukidze Free Market Center from the international award-winning Economics in 31 Hours of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, will help the Ukrainian youth cultivate the much-needed knowledge of economics as well as the attitudes and skills necessary to rebuild a free and prosperous Ukraine.

“Supporting Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and democracy also means supporting its future – the young generation. It is the Ukrainian youth who will have to restore and rebuild their country. We understand that the trauma of war and hardships of refugee life can undermine faith and hope, but we believe that this challenging time could be a time for Ukrainian children not only to heal their wounds, but, above all, to create a vision for their country‘s future,” said Justina Kuncaitiene, the Head of the LFMI‘s Education Centre.

The Ukrainian textbook now appears to have been a providential fruit of collaboration between Atlas Network member think-tanks.  In 2019, the Bendukidze Free Market Center adapted the Lithuanian Economics in 31 Hours and successfully launched it in schools in seven regions of Ukraine. Today the Ukrainian textbook has gone digital and can reach Ukrainian children in different parts of the world.

“Our team at the Lithuanian Free Market Institute will now be working to provide an interactive digital learning platform and adapt for Ukrainian school youth our state-of-the-art interdisciplinary textbooks in civics, economics and ethics. We are confident that these resources will help young Ukrainians understand that economics goes hand in hand with moral agency and active citizenship. They will help this rising generation foster a belief in creative human capacity and a sense of responsibility for themselves and their communities,“ said Justina Kuncaitiene.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute will continue its long-standing collaboration with peer think-tanks in Europe and beyond to expand access to the educational resources for Ukrainian refugee youth. Economics in 31 Hours is also available in Slovak and Georgian schools, while a Polish edition of the integrated civics, economics and ethics course is widely used across Polish schools. These and many other partnerships are an invaluable asset in advancing our shared cause for a free and flourishing Ukraine.

Economics in 31 Hours is a winner of Templeton Freedom Award and London Book Fair Educational Learning Resources Award.

The adaptation of the Ukrainian textbook ЕКОНОМІКА для 8 (9) класів was supported by Atlas Network and Friedrich Naumann Foundation.