History of national committee

The initiative to establish a Selection Committee that would nominate students to UWC schools belongs to Halyna Freeland, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, a lawyer, and a public figure. The Committee was created in 1994 and at a time was a part of the Ukrainian Legal Foundation. Halyna was keen on giving young Ukrainians better educational opportunities after her daughter, Chrystia Freeland (now Minister of Finance of Canada) graduated from UWC Adriatic.

The first Head of the Selection Committee was Yevheniia Sheveliuk. In 1994, the first two students won the selections process and began their studies. They were Olena Yanchuk (Pearson College) and Serhiy Petrov (Adriatic College).

The selection jury consisted of embassies’ representatives and members of the Ukrainian Legal Foundation. Later on, Ukrainian alumni joined the process. In 1999, the UWC European Regional Conference was held in Kyiv. Among participants, there were National Committees from across Europe, UWC International Office, and representatives of colleges. The event boosted the relations between the UWC movement and Ukraine.

In 2002, the new UWC National Committee was created in Ukraine with the support of the International Office in London. Olena Yanchuk (Pearson College) and Ostap Malaniuk (Atlantic College) began their work on selecting the new cohort of students in 2003 with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and Educational Advising Center «Osvita».

From the beginning of its work until today, the National Committee has been fully run by the efforts of volunteers who are Ukrainian alumni of UWC schools. Members of the committee devote their time to organizing the selection process, spreading the word about the movement, raising funds, managing the work of the non-profit organization, conducting PR campaigns, and supporting this website. Since the foundation of the Committee, over 150 Ukrainian students have had a chance to be UWC students.

Our board

Meet our organisation's board for the 2023-2024 academic year!