Museum workers, educators, and researchers from different regions of Ukraine gathered at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve for the XIV Scientific and Practical Conference “Museum Pedagogy — Problems, Present, Prospects”. The event was held as part of the celebration of the 975th anniversary of the Lavra and the 100th anniversary of the National Reserve. For two days, participants shared their experience with visitors and talked about how museums can help with education and support people affected by the war. At the opening, the participants were greeted by the Deputy General Director of the National Reserve for Scientific Work, Kostyantyn Krainiy, the Director of the Ivan Zyazyun Institute of Pedagogical and Adult Education of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Myroslava Vovk, and the Head of the All-Ukrainian Society “Prosvita” named after Taras Shevchenko, Pavlo Movchan. Permanent participants of the conference were presented with honorary awards from the National Reserve and its partners for their contribution to the development of museum pedagogy and the popularization of historical and cultural heritage. One of the topics of the event was the use of digital technologies. The participants discussed how to supplement museum exhibitions with multimedia tools and use collections in digital learning. In particular, they considered the experience of the Pedagogical Museum of Ukraine and the project “Virtual Diary of Museums of Educational Institutions of Ukraine”, which helps to record and disseminate educational experience. Employees of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” presented reports on working with military personnel, as well as adults and children who suffered from the war. They separately talked about how museum resources can help in the education of children with special educational needs and what role school museums play in this. Another direction was the cooperation of museums with higher education institutions and the involvement of students majoring in “Cultural Studies and Museum Studies”. During the practical session, the participants were presented with the theatrical route “Where the Escape Ends” – a joint project with the student youth of the NAKKKiM and the “SHARRZH” theater. This is an immersive walk through the open spaces and dungeons of the Lavra, dedicated to the memory of the artists of the Shot Renaissance, scientists and repressed museum workers of the 1920s and 1930s. The route raises the issue of responsibility for one’s own history and the choice to be Ukrainian. Also, as part of the conference, the exhibition “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra through the Eyes of Children” was opened. Pupils of the “Little Prince” children’s art studio of the Sviatoshynsky district of Kyiv depicted Lavra monks, statesmen and architectural monuments. The partners of the conference were the Ivan Zyazyun Institute of Pedagogical and Adult Education of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, the Laboratory of Museum Pedagogy of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and the All-Ukrainian Society “Prosvita” named after Taras Shevchenko. Based on the results of the meeting, a collection of materials of the XIV scientific and practical conference “Museum Pedagogy – Problems, Present, Prospects” has already been published.
