Philanthropists seek to continue supporting education in Ukrainian schools and universities.
Today, July 12, Ivan Sobko, the deputy head of the Lviv OVA, met with American philanthropists James and Chris Watson, who independently and within various projects support the development of education in the Lviv region.
In particular, in May, the final of the youth entrepreneurship competition was held, which was organized by the Tech StartUp School of the Lviv Polytechnic within the framework of grant cooperation with the USAID Project “HOVERLA” with the support of Lviv OVA. James and Chris Watson contributed to the funding of the contest. In addition, thanks to the investments of the family of patrons, it was possible to create almost 50 jobs for the implementation of other educational projects in the region.
As James Watson noted during the meeting today, this time he came to Ukraine with his granddaughters to show them how Ukrainians fight and find solutions in a difficult situation. He noted that Americans admire Ukrainians and the Ukrainian President.
“I am amazed at how smart Ukrainians are, how much strength, patience and resistance they have. Americans admire President Zelensky and the way he represents Ukraine in the world,” said Mr. Watson.
“About twenty years ago, my wife and I organized a center at the University of California where students acquire reading skills. This is a great development program that allows you to develop literacy. We want to share the experience gained at the center. We also work with children, because our children are our future,” emphasized James Watson.
His son Chris added that he and his father support several educational programs in Ukraine and want to continue to do so, as well as strive to support Ukrainian education in schools and universities.
“In Ukraine, human development is important, this is the main thing. Russia does not think about this, but thinks about decline, murder and looting. We don’t want to live like this. We want to adopt the best experience of Europe, the USA, Great Britain, and the Baltic countries. And we invest in the development of children and support quality initiatives in this direction.
One of the exemplary examples of such projects is the Tech StartUp School of the Lviv Polytechnic, which does everything possible to interest Ukrainian youth in developing and working in Ukraine.
The network of educational institutions in the Lviv Region is being systematized. The Department of Education and Science and I already have a clear idea about the further development of the network and we continue to work on it,” said Ivan Sobko.
As a sign of gratitude, Ivan Sobko presented James and Chris Watson with a Ukrainian flag from the Ukrainian military.
“You will definitely win, the whole Western world is with you,” the American partners added.
The director of the Department of Education and Science of the Lviv OVA, Oleg Paska, and the director of the Tech StartUp School, Nazar Podolchak, also took part in the meeting.
For reference:
James Watson served in the US Air National Guard for several years in the 1960s. Later, he started appraising real estate. Together with his wife, Judy Watson, in 2004, he founded the Watson Literacy Center at the University of California.
In 2012, the couple was named Philanthropists of the Year for the Inland Empire of Southern California (a region located within coastal Southern California) with a population of over two million.
Currently, James Watson continues to be active in real estate, philanthropy and education.