Seven hundred participants went through the Stand By Me program in two years. The programme helped children and young people in difficult life situations to self-actualise and integrate into their peer group. Although the project is coming to an end, we will continue to use the experience in the DofE. So we asked our colleague, project manager Nadězda Vránová, a few questions.
Nadi, tell us as much as you can about the history of the project, how the idea came about, who was involved and anything else you think is important.
When the conflict in Ukraine began, we immediately thought of ways in which the DofE could help. Together with colleagues in Slovakia, we felt obliged to take steps to create a programme to support incoming pupils and students fleeing the war in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The idea for the Stand By Me (SBM) project was conceived shortly after the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Subsequently, we managed to convince the International Foundation DofE (IAF) to support us in the project. Romania also joined us, with thousands more young people heading there. With the involvement of three countries in the project, we were able to convince international UNICEF to support us and we were able to better develop the programme. This was the first ever collaboration of this kind for DofE.
Does that mean that the link between SBM and UNICEF was already at the very beginning?
The vision was that we would create something that could be supported, but UNICEF didn't start getting involved until six months after the idea was born. We had to convince them to come on board first.
How did the idea for the buddies system come about?
We wanted to build on the know-how of the DofE programme. We thought about how we could help the incoming students and what they might miss when they arrive in the Czech Republic, what we could fill in. So we came up with the idea of peer-to-peer collaboration to help students find friends who will help them feel welcome here. That was the basic idea, and the specifics of what it looked like beyond that didn't start to take shape until later.
And now we're in September 2022?
This was before September 2022, because the design process only started when we convinced UNICEF. Over the summer, we worked with experts to develop the methodology and prepare for the launch of the project.
We started implementing the programme in September 2022, as the first of the three countries. We were at the very beginning. After us, it was launched by the Slovaks, and after them by Romania. Later, the Bulgarians joined.
How did information about SBM reach individual schools? Did you reach out to the principals directly?
First, we contacted the active schools we have in our database. We then contacted all the institutions involved in the DofE. In the next phase we then worked with the Ministry of Education, who provided us with information on the numbers of Ukrainian students in schools.
Out of the 350 centres that work with us, you selected the places where you wanted to participate and then schools that are not in our database at all also got involved. What was the percentage? Like 50:50?
I'm sure it didn't, but it got us about ten percentt of the newly involved schools. Over time, the programme gained a bigger name and some schools started to speak up themselves. We were very active in associations of different kinds, like school psychologists, preventionists, but also organizations that helped the Ukrainian community. We were involved in advisory platforms and participated in professional conferences. Thanks to this, the project became known to the wider public and we started to receive applications not only from schools but also from students who wanted to be involved in the project.
Are there any plans or have you thought about publishing the stories of children/students whose lives have been profoundly affected by SBM?
We hadn't thought of it that way, but it would definitely be worth it. We just had a closing ceremony where we mentioned some of the stories. We had a buddy pair of guys with us at the event who started on the SBM programme and then joined the DofE. They have been through two levels together and are now doing a third - gold - together. During their journey they have learnt each other's mother tongues - Ukrainian and Czech.
It would certainly be worthwhile to see what impact the buddies project had on each group.
If we look at it, from September 2022 to September 2024, that's two years. How many children from the Ukrainian community have been involved?
About five hundred children have joined through our system, and these are both Czechs, Ukrainians and students of other nationalities. Some participants did not want to enter our system and did it independently without registration. About two hundred children were thus outside the official registration. So, indicatively, seven hundred children were involved.
The Ukrainian community was very specific in that for a long time they did not trust our organization. They didn't know why they should be involved and they had this attitude towards Czech schools. That's why we had to change our communication style a little bit. Highlighting the DofE's connection with the Royal Family and the opportunity to get a certificate for completing the programme helped a lot. The communication was also supported by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, who filmed a special greeting for Stand By Me.
We have discontinued SBM in its current form. What is the next plan?
The Buddy Program will still be alive in some form at participating schools. We would be happy to have students continue to support their peers in this way. That is why we have made the methodology freely available.
SBM was the first venture to work with disadvantaged participants. I am glad that we have transformed the buddy program over time into a tool that has helped all students who have been excluded in some way from the school community. Children with a different mother tongue, or children with some kind of disability were involved. One of the ways we want to continue to work with this is through the Erasmus+ KA2 project, through which we have established further cooperation with the Slovak DofE office.
Within the framework of the so-called KA2, we have created focus groups of youth workers to deepen the DofE's know-how in working with students with specific educational needs and to develop a methodology that will reflect the needs of the target groups. So we will be able to say that the DofE really is for everyone.
Regarding the DofE for All concept, is this more of a Czech initiative or is it something that is also running across other countries, such as the European Union?
Some countries are trying to open up the DofE programme more to all. For example, DofE UK works with children who are in prison to give them the chance to spend their free time in a meaningful way. That's what we're trying to do in KA2, gathering experiences from the centres involved, whether they're educational institutions or children's homes and so on. So that we can then be able to offer DofE to a wider range of organisations and also know what the pitfalls are there.
INFOBOX
The Stand By Me project was created after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army and was launched at DofE in September 2022. The programme mainly targeted children and young people from Ukraine, foreigners with a different mother tongue, newcomers to the collective or children with specific learning needs. In addition to the Czech Republic, the programme also operated in Slovakia and Romania. In our country, the project involved seven set kids.
Thank you for your support: UNICEF, CVC Capital Partners, Progresus, IAF, Česká spořitelna Foundation, BLÍŽKSOBĚ Foundation and ŠKODA AUTO Endowment Fund.
The programme has received the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, UNICEF and the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
