Czech textbooks for thousands of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic are available through the PPF project

The Kellner Family Foundation and PPF Foundation has donated Czech language teaching materials to tens of thousands of Ukrainians. The Textbooks for Ukraine project was part of a CZK 100 million pledge for Czech language schooling for Ukrainian refugees announced by the two foundations shortly after Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, arguing that war does not belong in 21st-century Europe.

Some 340,000 Czech textbooks, Czech-Ukrainian dictionaries, and teachers' manuals have been distributed through the Textbooks for Ukraine program. These resources, intended for all ages, were supplied free to schools, other educational institutions, and individuals.

“With our non-profit and charity work firmly fixed in education, we knew from the outset that if we wanted to help Ukrainian refugees effectively, we should concentrate on what we’re good at,” says trustee of The Kellner Family Foundation Petra Dobešová. “Whether we’re helping refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine or assisting people who have been here much longer and already found a second home in the Czech Republic, it is important that they become proficient in Czech for their successful integration into society here.”

The project organisers set up a re-edition of existing textbooks and publication of new teaching resources to help Ukrainian refugees, especially children, with access to education and smoother integration into the Czech education system.

“Our initiative has helped avert the problem of a looming shortage of resources in teaching Czech to thousands of Ukrainian schoolchildren. We have an advantage over the public sector in that we are more flexible and able to act more quickly. I would like to stress here how effective and mutually beneficial the collaboration on the project has been, not only with the Ministry of Education but also representatives of educational institutions, outreach workers, and NGOs who work with immigrants, especially the META society for young immigrants and the CIC – Centre for the Integration of Foreigners. Everyone worked on the project as much as they could to get it done in record time,” says PPF Foundation trustee Jana Tomas Sedláčková.

The Textbooks for Ukraine project has drawn great interest and exceeded initial expectations. The number of books required has consequently risen to over 100,000 copies, and even then, each book has already been allocated this summer. Exceeding 11,000 orders placed via the www.ucebniceproukrajinu.cz portal, all books were fully processed and shipped by the beginning of the new school year with help from partners in e-commerce, logistics and distribution (Heureka, Mailstep, PPL, Shoptet).​​​​​​​

The Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports estimates that as many as 70,000 students from Ukraine will be enrolling in school levels in the new 2022/2023 school year. The learning materials they have received under the initiative by PPF Foundation and The Kellner Family Foundation will ease their way in learning the Czech language and navigating through this new environment.

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