Cossack-themed camp held for youth of Lviv Oblast
From 22 to 30 June, the Ukrainian Youth Organisation “Heritage”, with the support of the Department of Youth and Sports of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, held a youth camp on the historical and ethnographic theme “Cossack Glory: By Forgotten Paths”.
The camp was traditionally held near the village of Yamelnytsia, Stryi district. The participants were young people under the age of 16. This year, the camp was attended by fifty boys and girls, as well as guests of the camp – senior members of the organisation who are defending our borders in eastern Ukraine.
For 9 days, the campers had the opportunity to plunge into the world of the Cossacks: to learn more about the customs of the Cossacks through lectures, quests and even the peculiarities of their cuisine, to understand what the Cossacks lived for besides fighting, what their everyday life was like.
In addition, this June’s camp had a folklore focus: the youth were treated to a traditional Midsummer celebration with wreath weaving, folk Kupala songs, a big bonfire and even a swing.
During the camp, the young people learnt to bake bread, collect herbs for tea, and had tactical medicine classes. They also travelled along forgotten paths to the Yamelnytsky rocks, where they felt like real climbers, overcoming an obstacle course. In the camp, the boys and girls carved Cossack seagulls out of wood using models, and then went to the river to compete to see whose seagull was the fastest.
“This year, our organising team decided to dedicate the camp to the Cossack theme. Previously, of course, the topic of the Cossacks was always raised in the camps, but somehow in passing, not fully disclosed from all sides. Our goal was to convey to young people what life was really like for Cossacks in the Sich. We tried very hard to convey this in thematic lectures, quests, field games, and even in the menu, preparing dishes of the time. We also thought about the Cossack structure of the camp: the participants were divided into koshs, and each kosh had its own kosh leader,” says the camp’s commandant, Smerek’s friend Saliy Dzvenyslava.
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“Heritage” is a non-governmental organisation that provides comprehensive education for young people in a patriotic spirit. It was founded in Lviv in 1988 with the aim of raising a well-rounded, nationally conscious generation capable of building an independent, united Ukrainian state.
The project was implemented with the support of the Department of Youth and Sports of the Lviv Regional State Administration as part of the regional programme “Youth of Lviv Region”.