OSCE SMM - Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

«Факти мають значення: чому цивільний моніторинг важливий» та Stopfake.org.
Керівник ІРЦ "Вікно в Америку" Світлана Усенко взяла участь у цікавій неформальній зустрічі з представниками Спеціальної моніторингової місії в Україні Організації з безпеки та співробітництва в Європі (СММ ОБСЄ). Було корисно дізнатися більше про місію цієї організації, про діяльність в східних регіонах України, про систему звітування, де публікуються звіти організації. Громадські активісти Дніпра поставили багато уточнюючих питань американцю, що представляв місію на зустрічі в одному з коворкінгів Дніпра, та отримали вичерпні відповіді.
 

Також керівник ІРЦ «Вікно в Америку» у Дніпрі Світлана Усенко мала нагоду прослухати виступ Анни Чорноус, яка є учасником проекту Stopfake.org (Національний Університет «Києво-Могилянська академія»). Цей проект триває вже 3 роки, виконує просвітницьку та інформаційну роботу, волонтери підготували не тільки добірку фейків російської пропаганди та їх спростування, а й за підтримки Посольства Великобританії в Україні друкують газету «Твоё право знать», підготували інтерактивний тест, що дозволить визначити наскільки Ви вмієте відрізняти вірні новини від фейкових.

 Матеріали на сайті проекту викладені 11-ма іноземними мовами (http://www.stopfake.org/), добре ілюстровані, актуальні, підходять для розповсюдження серед іноземних гостей міста.
Отримана інформація буде доречна під час зустрічей з молоддю у бібліотеці.

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Speed English: Sport

Speed English session was dedicated to the topic SPORT. The club members discussed the sport they like to watch or play, their attitudes to professional sportsmen and unusual sports. Mr. Nathan actively participated in the conversations.
Participants number – 21 persons.

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Graffiti in the USA and Ukraine

The session of the Gabfest Club in Dnipro Window on America center started with the introductions of the first-timers who   explained why they decided to join the Club.
To warm up the group shared their experiences of the Ukraine’s Independence week-end with our foreign guest Mr. Nathan. Some people travelled, some people stayed in town or at home. But everyone enjoyed the celebration of the Independence Day.
 

The official topic of the session was “Graffiti in the USA and in Ukraine”. We have watched several videos about the place of graffiti in the modern American art. Some people think it is vandalism. The graffiti artists think it’s art. The group had to watch a video about street art festival in Dnipro city and render into English for Mr. Nathan the fun facts about graffiti artists and vandals.
Participants number – 21 persons.

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WOA Dnipro and Ukrainian Diaspora FORUM

WOA Dnipro takes part in the events of the Ukrainian Youth of Diaspora Congress that in 2017 takes place in Dnipro city. It was organized by SKUMO and local authorities and companies.
SKUMO is a world umbrella organization which brings together and coordinates Ukrainian youth organizations around the globe.
On the first day of the Congress the participants had a bus tour of the city and visit the open-air museum of the Ukrainian ATO just next door from the WOA's office.
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Visit of the US guest: Q&A session

Mr . Nathan   participated in a Q&A session with the WOA Dnipro activists. He told the group some fun facts about life in North America and puzzled them with tricky questions about Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Independence Day at WOA Dnipro

This afternoon the Gabfest Club members practiced the conversation about the Independence Day celebration. The good motivation for the participants was the presence of a guest from abroad – a New-York born Mr. Nathan.
The group explained to our guest the basic things about Ukraine as an independent state – symbolism of the  national colors, the national flag, the coat of arms. They have told the guest what happens in Dnipro city during the Independence Day celebrations. They have given the recommendations regarding the best way to spend the long Independence week-end in Dnipro city. The most knowledgeable club members recommended the best authentic souvenirs from Ukraine and Dnipro region.
 

The foreign guest demonstrated big interest in the facts about Ukraine and expressed his warm feelings towards Ukrainian people and Ukraine.

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Visit of Kansas City volunteers

Q & A session

Visit of Kansas City volunteers to Gabfest Club.

This afternoon the WOA Dnipro city was visited by young American volunteer from Kansas city. The guests presented their home state to the members of the Gabfest and answered the Club members’ questions. They also shared their impressions about travelling around Ukraine during their missionary activities.

Participant number- 20 persons.

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American Art

This afternoon the members of English speaking club Gabfest talked about modern and classical American art focusing on two genres: typographic portrait and impressionism.
The modern American art was represented by the works of Ohio-based artists John Sokol. His so called “word portraits” of classical writers were presented to the patrons in the DOUNB Library book and image display. The display showcased the books from the DOUNB Library collection and their authors’ portraits by J.Sokol.  John Sokol is also a poet. The group was offered a John Sokol’s poem about August – “Kissing the bees”. This free verse piece was translated and analyzed by the Club members. The highlight of this activity was the line from the poem about the Scythian kings.
 

The group was also introduced to the works of American impressionists – John French Sloan and Robert Lewis Reid. John French Sloan was associated with the Ashcan School. The artists of this school rebelled against with the classical American Impressionism. In contrast to the Impressionists' emphasis on light their works were generally darker in tone. Sloan’s works often presented the daily realities of New York City urban life and tended to be more realistic. Robert Reid is an important American impressionist best known for his large-scale murals and glowing figural scenes depicting young women and flowers.
The session was quite educational for all participants.

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Speed English: Popoulation

SPEED ENGLISH at WOA Dnipro.
This afternoon the topic for conversation in pairs was rather complicated - POPULATION. We practiced the vocabulary introduced a week ago.
Participants number – 21 persons.

World Games 2017

This afternoon the session of the Gabfest English speaking Club was dedicated to the World Games 2017 in Poland. We focused on the American sports represented in this major sports event. The group has learned the fun facts about American football and Ultimate frisbee.
The relevant videos inroduced some vital vocabulary for the topic.

 Participants number – 21 persons.

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Wednesday Movie Club in August

on August, 2 - The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a 2011 a comedy-drama about American high school students and their preparation for the : Prom (Graduation Ball).
Director – Joe Nussbaum, written by Katie Wech, producers – Ted Griffin and Justin Springer. It was released on April 29, 2011, by Walt Disney Pictures. Some critics found it funny and touching, others think it may be entertaining only to the very young people.
The Movie Club members discussed the film and the majority of the viewers found some merits in it.
Participants number – 8 persons.

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on August, 9 - The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a Stomp the Yard: Homecoming.
The film tells about one aspect of the African American culture – the popularity of step dancing.
The Club members learned about such cultural phenomena as:
- step battles (“stomp the yard”) between fraternities at colleges or urban high schools
- Homecoming weekends. Homecoming is an annual tradition in the United States. People, towns, high schools, and colleges come together, usually in late September or early October, to welcome back alumni and former residents. It is built around a central event, such as a banquet and, most often, a game of American football, or, like in the film, a dance battle.

- Work–life balance .It is a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation).
The discussion that followed revealed different tastes of the Club members in music and dance. It was clear that some definitions are not available in the dictionaries, they should be searched in an encyclopedia or  a thesaurus.

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on August, 16 - The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a film Detention.
 

It is a 2011 satirical horror film about an American high school. It was  directed by Joseph Kahn, and co-written with Mark Palermo. Critic Devin Faraci called Detention "Insane, Hyperkinetic, Next Level Filmmaking". Drew McWeeny of “Hitfix” described it as a "manic throwback horror comedy for the Twitter generation”.
 No wonder only few club members stayed till the end of the film. They were happy to practice vocabulary from the previous Club films about high school life. They shared the ideas about the popularity of the horror genre in the American culture.
Participants – 10 persons.

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on August, 30 - 
The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine had watched a drama film Grand Canyon (1991). Director: Lawrence Kasdan.
 
Plot: Los Angeles is filled with people of all different backgrounds and experiences, and this is true for a group of loosely connected residents. Simon and Mack, the two leaders of the group, live their lives while maintaining an unlikely friendship after Mack encounters a dangerous situation in Simon’s neighborhood. It is through this encounter that so many other people begin to feel the effects of the newly formed friendship. Despite violence, fear, and confusion that is so much a part of the L.A. inner city, these people continue to live life as they always have.
 
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed. The majority of the viewers found some merits in it.
Participants number – 9 person.
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