Having left 350 candidates behind, Volyn resident Mykhailo Nakhod, head of the Lutsk city public organization "Center for Political Analysis and Electoral Consulting," deputy head of the Executive Committee of the VOOP "People's Union Our Ukraine" became a student of the "Ukrainian School of Political Studies." The first session of the "Ukrainian School of Political Studies" took place in February. Among the 35 participants are representatives of media, public institutions and political structures. According to Mykhailo Nakhod, the event took place at the highest level, as among the lecturers are Jean-Louis Laurent, Director General for Political Affairs of the Council of Europe, Ihor Kohut, director of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies, Fumiko Saiga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Norway and Iceland, Volodymyr Shapoval, representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Matsuo Mabuchi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine, noted in his welcoming speech: Japan highly values Ukraine's efforts on the path to democratic transformations, evidenced by the Orange Revolution, and will actively promote the further democratization of Ukrainian society.
The School of Political Studies in Ukraine was created on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe. This is an independent non-partisan project aimed at forming, training and supporting a new generation of politicians and civil society leaders who are capable of formulating and implementing the idea of a European Ukraine. The project is supported by the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine.
Subsequent training sessions will address such issues as the process of democratic reforms and international policy and security. The final stage of training at the "Ukrainian School of Political Studies" will take place in the city of Strasbourg, France.