Development of International Educational Exchange: A Delegation from France and Germany Visits Vinnytsia

On May 10, delegations from France and Germany, led by the Mayor of Nancy Mathieu Klein and the Mayor of Karlsruhe Frank Mentrup, arrived in Vinnytsia for a working visit. The delegation members visited Vinnytsia Lyceum No. 1, where they talked to students who took part in a project implemented between the twin cities of Vinnytsia.

During the educational conference, the students demonstrated to the Europeans their level of foreign language skills, shared their impressions of their visits to the twin cities, discussed the possibility of new visits by Vinnytsia educators, and exchanged gifts.

At the beginning of the meeting, the students prepared videos filled with vivid emotions from their stay in Germany and France. Later, the lyceum students had the opportunity to ask the mayor of Nancy, France, Mathieu Klein, and the mayor of Karlsruhe, Germany, Frank Mentrup, whether they liked Vinnytsia and Ukraine.

The mayors did not hesitate to answer and noted that they were pleasantly surprised by Ukrainian culture and hospitality. "You are strong and fair. The way Ukrainians are fighting for freedom and independence is inspiring," said Mathieu Klein.

The mayor of Nancy also expressed hope that Ukraine would soon win and French children would be able to visit Vinnytsia, as it is important that Ukrainian children, along with children from Germany and France, also develop actively.

Speaking to the students, both the French and German sides said they expected to see young Vinnytsia residents again in their communities.

"We are confident that the new visit will be an unforgettable adventure for the students of the Vinnytsia community and will open up a world of new opportunities, impressions and knowledge for them," said Mathieu Klein.

During the meeting, the international partners recalled how the idea to sign an agreement with Vinnytsia came about. "During russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, we decided to find a Ukrainian city that we could support in such a difficult time. We selected several Ukrainian cities and began to analyze their prospects. An important factor in the selection was the advice of our colleague who lived in Vinnytsia for some time and spoke highly of the city," said Frank Mentrup.

For her part, Deputy Mayor of Vinnytsia Halyna Yakubovych recalled that it was thanks to Frank Mentrup's proposal to establish trilateral cooperation with Nancy that the community now has such successful cooperation and systematic support.

She also thanked the international partners for the warm welcome of Vinnytsia children, as the visits to Nancy and Karlsruhe brought a lot of positive emotions to the schoolchildren. They visited famous places, had a rest, made new friends, and were able to psychologically unload.

In December 2023, in France, Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov, together with the Mayor of Nancy, Mathieu Klein, and the Mayor of Karlsruhe, Frank Mentrup, signed a trilateral cooperation agreement. All three cities are connected by twin city relations. They plan to cooperate in the fields of healthcare, education, urbanism, economics, and ecology.