Speed English: Internet vs. Libraries.
Speed English session in the Gabfest Club was dedicated to the topic «How will the Internet change the function of libraries?». The club members discussed the atmosphere of libraries, libraries’ changes, the best library they’ve ever been to, and other.
This afternoon the Gabfest Club session in Dnipro Window on America center was dedicated to the All-Ukraine Libraries’ Day and International Translation Day.
To warm up the session of the Gabfest Club started with the introductions of the first-timers who explained why they decided to join the Club.
The presence of the US guest Mr. Michael was a surprise for the group. His presence was a challenge for the Club members as they were given a task to talk about Dnipro city’s and Ukrainian Libraries.
Speed English session was dedicated to the topic «How will the Internet change the function of libraries?». The club members discussed the atmosphere of libraries, libraries’ changes, the best library they’ve ever been to, and other.
Our loyal patrons arranged a cake and snacks for the occasion. The US volunteers Mr. Jason and Mr. Michael were invited to join the tea-ceremony.
Participants number – 27 persons.
All-Ukrainian Day of Libraries Greetings from the Partners In the academic year 2016-2017 the DOUNB librarians prepared a series of educational activities for students at Dnipro city’s secondary school № 141.
Today the Window on America Center was visited by a group of students from this school. They arrived to greet the librarians with their professional holiday. We received poetic greetings, a greeting poster; listened to the kid’s thoughts about the modern library.
We observed their genuine interest in attractively printed books, in unusual library decorations. A bunch of funny pictures will be a good memory about the DOUNB Library visit. We, the librarians, enjoyed this visit as well !
The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a film The Big Short.
The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Adam McKay and written by McKay and Charles Randolph, based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis about the financial crisis of 2007–2008 which was triggered by the United States housing bubble.
The film is noted for the unconventional techniques it employs to explain complex financial instruments. Among others, it features cameo appearances by Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, Selena Gomez and Richard Thaler, who break the fourth wall to explain concepts such as subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations as a meta-reference. Several other actors directly address the audience, most frequently Gosling, who serves as the narrator.
The film was a financial and critical success, grossing $133 million against a $50 million budget, and receiving positive reviews. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Bale, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning the last.
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Participant number – 8 persons.
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Today the group of Gabfest Club’s members observed the international “Car Free Day”. In pairs or small groups the group discussed the issues of impact the cars have on the environment.
Participant number – 29 persons.
World Car Free Day, which is celebrated on September 22, encourages motorists to give up their cars for a day. Organized events are held in some cities and countries. According to The Washington Post, the event "promotes improvement of mass transit, cycling and walking, and the development of communities where jobs are closer to home and where shopping is within walking distance". Studies showed that for short trips in cities, one can reach more quickly using a bicycle rather than using a car.
This afternoon the aim of the Gabfest Club’s session was to share the summer travel experiences. The highlight of the session was the visit of our US volunteers – Mr. Tanner and Mr. Isaiah. They have made a slide presentation about the most popular national parks in the USA. The group recommended the American guests a couple of popular national parks in Ukraine and asked many questions about visiting US national parks. The Ukrainians were interested in the entrance fees, safety rules, garbage disposal, camping opportunities, wildlife, traffic jams, etc.
The club member Viacheslav shared his experiences of travelling to such exotic destination for Ukrainians as Lebanon. He visited the ruins of Roman Temples in Baalbek on the Lebanon-Syria boarder. The group asked him numerous questions about his itinerary, the cheap flights, accommodation, safety and food in Lebanon. The Club member Valentina shared her impressions of visiting a unique destination in Ukraine - the town of Cherkassy which is up the river from Dnipro city.
Participants number – 29 persons.
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The project Discover USA continues. This afternoon a group of the 7th year students from school # 141 visited the Window on America center in Dnipro. The school is WOA’s longtime partner as its focused on the English language study.
The WOA staff member T. Gavryliuk familiarized the group with the life and work of James Fenimore Cooper. Cooper is considered to be the first national writer in the USA. He was one of the first major American novelists to include Native American characters in his works. Native Americans play central roles in his “Leatherstocking Tales”. However, his treatment of this group is complex and highlights the tenuous relationship between frontier settlers and American Indians. In the presentation we focused on the novel “The Last of the Mohicans”. It depicts the iconic character Chingachgook, the last chief of the Mohicans. He is portrayed as noble, courageous, and heroic.
The Cooper’s works from the DOUNB Library collection were presented as well as the video from the WOA’s video collection – “The Last of Mohicans” (1992) film.
Participants number – 11 (10 students + 1 teacher).
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This afternoon the WOA Dnipro center facilitated the first training of the English teachers in the academic year 2017/2018. The Dnipro city Department of Education organized and the DOUNB Library hosted the training for a big group of English teachers from Dnipro city and Dnipro region schools.
The teachers were informed about the mission of the WOA Dnipro. The free resources of the center were promoted and the city schools were urged to cooperate in several WOA’s projects.
The teachers enjoyed our new colorful decoration in American style. The installation is made in the shape of the Big Book, on its pages one can see popular US film and cartoon characters who also read, study and plan their successful future!
Participants number – 93 persons.
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"Window to America" Information and Resource Center has many partner schools in Dnipro city. For school students we offer events that improve their English skills.
But this academic year the WOA staff started to familiarize students with the concepts of "plagiarism" and "academic integrity." The Window to America Head Svetlana Usenko presented a slide show aimed to emphasize to the students that knowledge acquisition is hard and independent work they should do on a daily basis. In senior classes students begin to write scientific papers for different projects, they will need to prepare themselves for the Final Tests and University studies. The ability to distinguish plagiarism from non-plagiarism, familiarity with the quotation rules, and the awareness of the codes of honor in colleges – all these steps will lead today’s school kids to a successful career.
The participants number – 11 people.
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The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a film Oz the Great and Powerful.
Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi. Based on L. Frank Baum's Oz novels. Oz the Great and Powerful is a spiritual prequel to the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, The Wizard of Oz.
The film tells the story of Oscar Diggs, a deceptive magician who arrives in the Land of Oz and encounters three witches: Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda. Oscar is then enlisted to restore order in Oz, while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches and himself.
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Participants – 12 persons.
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The topic for the Speed English in Dnipro Window on America center was charity and volunteerism. The participants talked about their own participation in charity and civic projects.
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act.
The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité", which was derived from the Latin "caritas".
Participants number – 26 persons.
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This afternoon the Gabfest Club’s session in Dnipro Window on America center started with the introductions of the first-timers. Half a dozen new-comers presented themselves to the regular club members and answered their questions.
The official topic of the session was “Hispanic Heritage Month in the USA”. We discussed infographics about the role of Hispanic community in the US society. The group watched and discussed several YouTube videos about Hispanic Festival in Miami. Our US Volunteer Mr. Joseph added his own impressions about visiting Miami.
The group was introduced to the music popular with Hispanic Americans – Tejano. Tejano music or Tex-Mex music (Texan-Mexican music) is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas. Central to the evolution of Tejano music was the blend of traditional forms and Continental European styles, such as polka introduced by German and Czech settlers in the late 19th century. In particular, the accordion was adopted by Tejano folk musicians at the turn of the 20th century, and it became a popular instrument for amateur musicians in Texas and Northern Mexico.
The group was presented with the dramatic story of “the Queen of Tejano” – Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. The group managed to establish quite a few Hispanic elements even in the everyday life of modern Ukraine – mostly food and animal world.
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The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a Elysium.
Elysium is a 2013 American science fiction film produced, written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. It stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, and Sharlto Copley. The film takes place on both a ravaged Earth, and a luxurious space habitat (Stanford torus design) called Elysium. The film itself offers deliberate social commentary which explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, overpopulation, health care, worker exploitation, the justice system, and social class issues.
The film tells about how in the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.
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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This morning the WOA Dnipro facilitated the DOUNB’s skills up-grade training for regional libraries’ personnel. The WOA’s audio-visual equipment was used for the presentations about the modern methods of library operations.
The WOA Dnipro’s staff member T. Gavryliuk offered to the training participants the WOA’s promotional flyers, presented the new Big Book decoration and the free resources of the WOA Center.
The librarians from the provincial libraries promised to promote the WOA Dnipro among their patrons and partner schools.
Participants number – 27 persons.
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Sixteen years ago about three thousand Americans and other countries citizens died. Among them were 12 people with Ukrainian roots. Terrorist attacks took place in New York and Washington. September 11 became the day of remembrance and a day of solidarity against international terrorism. "Window to America" Dnipro Information and Resource Center presented the table display that reminds about the victims and heroic actions of rescuers and firefighters. This terrorist act has changed the peaceful life of the United States. People are united against the external threat.
Participants number – 12 persons.
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A Dnipro City Day Surprise! This afternoon 4 foreign guests arrived to the WOA Center to communicate in English with Gabfest Club members. Our American volunteers came to say hello and brought their Dutch friend with them.
The Gabfest Club members recommended the guests all sorts of entertainment during the City Day Celebration.
Participants number – 10 persons.
This afternoon the Gabfest Club session was dedicated to the Anniversary of the Dnipro City foundation. To start the ball rolling the group was asked to tell our American volunteers about such tourist attractions of the city as fortresses. The group briefed the guests on the fun historical facts about the fortresses and recommended the interesting events that take place there (Rock festivals, Cossack festivals, medieval festivals, etc.).
In the official part of the session we have decided to tell our American guests about the City’s international partners. This allowed us to introduce the topic of “sister city”. Sister cities are a form of legal or social agreement between towns, cities, counties, oblasts, prefectures, provinces, regions, states, and even countries in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties. We have watched a video about the Sister Cities International and the friendship between the US and China capital cities. The group told the American guests about the present Dnipro’s sister cities and suggested the sister city for Dnipro in the USA. The suggestions ranged from Washington to Houston and Detroit. We also analyzed the list of sister cities in Ukraine and USA and talked about the benefits of such friendship.
In the second part of the session our US volunteer Mr. Jason shared his travel experiences around Baltic and Scandinavian countries. The Club members asked Jason many questions as many of them visited the Baltic capitals earlier.
Number of participants – 23 persons.
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On the occasion of the Dnipro City Day the Window on America center (Dnipro / Ukraine) staff participated in the traditional libraries’ presentation event «A Date with Dnipropetrovsk oblast Libraries» in the Lazar Hloba park.
At the WOA’s stand the adult visitors received promotional flyers that invited them to use the WOA’s modern resources for English study.
The young visitors of the library fair enjoyed the presentation of the 3D Printing Pens at the WOA Center stand.
The Library fair promoted libraries among the city residents. It had educational value and expanded the awareness about the new library services.
Number of participants – 80 persons.
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Read our books, read with us, read more than we do!
The DOUNB librarians keep urging the patrons to read more books, to learn English in free Library projects, to participate in the WOA Dnipro’s Conversation clubs. Today the Librarians’ efforts are complemented with a colorful decoration in American style. The installation is made in the shape of the Big Book, on its pages one can see popular US film and cartoon characters who also read, study and plan their successful future!
Our American friend, volunteer Mr. Stephen was glad to see on the Big Book page the characters from his favorite film – "The Big Bang Theory". The Historical Museum researcher Sergiy shows the gesture of approval to the chance to study English. Some people were puzzled with the image of Flash, the "fastest" three-toed sloth, as they do not follow American cartoons and do not know this slow character from "Zootopia" cartoon.
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The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipro, Ukraine, had watched a Blood Diamond.
Blood Diamond is a 2006 German-American political war thriller film co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance conflicts, and thereby profit warlords and diamond companies across the world.
Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1991–2002, the film depicts a country torn apart by the struggle between government loyalists and insurgent forces. It also portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels' amputation of people's hands to discourage them from voting in upcoming elections.
The film's ending, in which a conference is held concerning blood diamonds, refers to a historic meeting that took place in Kimberley, South Africa, in 2000. It led to development of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which sought to certify the origin of rough diamonds in order to curb the trade in conflict diamonds, but has since been mostly abandoned as ineffective.
The film received mixed but generally favorable reviews, with praise directed mainly to the performances of DiCaprio and Hounsou; they were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
The Movie Club members discussed the film and the majority of the viewers found some merits in it.
Participants number – 7 persons.
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This afternoon WOA’s long-time volunteer Mr. Joseph introduced us to a new partner – the Dnipro filial organization of the SOROPTIMIST International and its Head – Ms. Svitlana.
Founded in 1921 in Oakland, California, United States, SOROPTIMIST International (SI) is a worldwide volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. The organization seeks equality, peace, and international goodwill for women.
The organization comprises approximately 95,000 members in more than 125 countries and territories worldwide who contribute time and financial support to community-based and international projects. Soroptimist members belong to local clubs, which determine the focus of service to their communities.
The name "Soroptimist" was coined by combining the Latin words soror "sister" and optima "best", and can be taken to mean "best for women".
The WOA Dnipro staff arranged a DOUNB Library Tour for Mr. Joseph and Ms. Svitlana. We hope for the future partnership and cooperation with this international community of people.
Participant number – 3 persons.
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Speed English at Dnipro WOA: Vandalism”.
This afternoon the Speed English activity at Gabfest Club in #DniproWOA was dealing with the topic “Vandalism”. The WOA’s foreign guests actively participated in the conversations. They have discussed what is often vandalized in our city and how we fight vandalism.
Participant number – 32 persons.
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Window on America center in Dnipro city. This afternoon at English-speaking club Gabfest we introduced the UN observance – International Day of Charity. It was established in 2012 to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on September, 5. Every year charities all over the world help to save and improve people’s lives, fighting disease, protecting children, and giving hope to many thousands of people. Education and giving are the essence of this special day.
The Gabfest Club members were thrilled today as two foreign guests joined the session today. Our long-time US volunteer Mr. Jason commented on the charity traditions of the USA. He explained for the group such American phenomena as “Food Banks” and “Charity Navigator”. The modern charity event was also introduced – the so called #GivingTuesday. “Giving Tuesday” refers to the Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving celebration. It is a movement to create an international day of giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season (Black Friday and Cyber Monday). Our second foreign guest was an English-speaking professor from Austria. He told the group about his charity projects in Asian countries.
The group had a Q@A session with the Austrian guest. It was very challenging for the majority of the club members to understand the native and non-native fluent speakers in one session.
Participant number – 32 persons.
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EDUCATION in the USA display.
The Dnipro Window on America center presented a book & brochure display for the ambitious patrons who consider study abroad.
The recent brochures sent by USA universities interested in Ukrainian students provide a lot of useful information about the study in the USA.
The Universities offer graduate and post graduate courses. Their colorful brochures give details of the courses as well as beautiful images of the campuses in different states.
All WOA’s patrons interested in studying in the USA receive advice about the procedures and the “Education USA” center in Dnipro.
The display reviewed by all visitors of WOA center in September.
