Winners of “A Letter to Europe” essay competition received their awards

“A Letter to Europe” essay competition was a highlight of the Europe Day celebration.

This year, 224 essays from young Ukrainians were received. Powerful testimonies from a generation growing up under air raid sirens and during blackouts.  Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic integration Taras Kachka was among the jurors.

First place went to Alina from Sumy. She wrote from a city where shelling has become part of everyday life. She studies online. She does not have a normal student life. No peaceful evenings, no university cafés, no ordinary carefree years of being eighteen. In her essay, she wrote:

“We, Ukrainians, chose your values long before we received your passport.”

She wrote about a Ukraine that defended European values on the Maidan and is defending them today on the battlefield. About people reopening cafés under missiles, children drawing suns during blackouts, and the simple right to live a free and dignified life. Her essay was not a plea for pity. It was a call for partnership among equals.

Second place went to Taisiia from Kyiv. She wrote her essay at three in the morning during a ballistic missile attack – from a cold corridor where she was hiding from rockets. She wrote about a generation of Ukrainian children forced to grow up too early, yet who still believe in democracy, dignity and Europe.

Third place went to Karina from the Kirovohrad region. In her essay, she reminded Europe of a simple but important truth: evil triumphs not only through violence, but also through silence. She wrote about how war took away the ordinary worries of teenage life and forced young people to grow up too quickly. But instead of resignation, she chose action – volunteering, helping others and standing up for justice.

A special distinction was awarded to Denys from Kryvyi Rih, who described Ukraine’s European future through the language of programming: a country “rewriting old code” during war and building a democratic system “line by line, commit by commit.”

Katarína Mathernová, Ambassador of the EU to Ukraine, noted: “Young Ukrainians fascinate me. First COVID stole their childhood. Then Russia did. And yet they have a remarkably clear vision of their future – and of Ukraine’s future”.