DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE OLENA BUDNYK PRESENTED AT THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN POLAND

On 5 June, Olena Budnyk, Director of the Centre for Innovative Educational Technologies ‘PNU EcoSystem’, took part in the First International Scientific and Pedagogical Conference ‘Challenges and Contexts of Social Pedagogy’, held at the University of Rzeszow and Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw (Poland) under the slogan ‘Social Determinants of the Mental State of Children and Youth’. In her speech at the plenary session, the professor focused on the issues of preserving the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents under martial law in Ukraine. The presentation covered the Ukrainian case study of students’ psychological state in modern realities. It highlighted several aspects of existential-humanistic theory in scientific research, taking into account the challenges of war, in particular: the relationship between the sense of meaning in life as one of the basic existential human needs and creativity; a meaningful paradigm of spiritual values and priorities; social interaction with other people, etc. The paper outlines certain aspects of Viktor Frankl’s logotherapeutic concept of understanding the meaning of life in the modern world. Olena Budnyk presented some spiritual meanings that can serve as salvation and meaning of life in crisis conditions for children at war, which became the subject of active discussions and debates. The event, held online, was attended by more than 100 participants from different European countries.