Interview with Waldemar Kuwaczka

The KANA Catholic Youth Education Center has been working with various groups of people for 12 years now. Since 2000, we have had a new target group, teachers. Why? Because we are convinced that by teaching the teacher, we receive the multiplication effect; inasmuch as each teacher every day contacts hundreds of students, thanks to the knowledge that he has acquired from us, this multiplies. In addition to this, we are convinced of the very great need (80%) for knowledge of information technologies among teachers. For every 10 teachers, only 2 have corresponding qualifications that allow them to teach information technologies in schools.

Keeping in mind the fact that Ukraine is not a member of the European Union (at this time it is not even a candidate for entry), we set a goal of acquiring appropriate means to introduce what we have achieved as part of the Teach-IT.Net project in Ukraine. Regarding the future development of the European continent, Ukraine is a key country. John Paul II of blessed memory spoke about the two lungs of Europe. But this Eastern part of Europe often is not properly appreciated... In our work we aspire to the revival of an authentic European community, though forces exist that oppose Ukraine joining the European Union.

May I ask: Why KANA? Why isn’t some separate educational center (for example, a university) engaged in this kind of transfer of knowledge and ability in Ukraine and the East?

I think this is precisely because we are a relatively small organization (a total of approximately 20 people work at KANA), and because we, as a non-government organization, are more flexible, we can quickly and untypically react to changes, accept what is happening around us at that moment without needless bureaucratic delays. If KANA were a government organization or institution, the consequences of its activities would be constrained, and so with little effect. “Small is beautiful,” and this motto is proven also in the context of what KANA is doing in relation to Ukraine. Similarly, our Ukrainian partner is the Ukrainian Catholic University, a non-government organization, lacking vertical relations with the government, which allows it to be engaged in such a complicated matter as is being realized at the given time in Ukraine.