The 5th anniversary of the creative project to "Open Life"

Last week, the 5th anniversary of Ukrainian creative project "Open Life"  was celebrated at Lviv National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater named after M. Zankovetska.

Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovy, First Deputy Head of Lviv Regional State Administration Bogdan Matolych, head of the Lviv Regional Council Chairman Yevhen Zakharevych, rector of the Lviv Theological Academy Michael Sivak and spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Union of the Disabled Roman Manulyak congratulated the participants and founders of the project.

Solemn Academy continued with the concert "Open Life" - the unique performance which has become a real face of Lviv. Accompanied by the orchestra of the National Theatre named after M. Zankovetska directed by H.A. Bohdan Mochurada,  Sergei Fomenko ("Wanderings"), Victor Bronyuk "TOK"), Lesia Gorova,  Oleksandr Polozhinsky ("Tartak"), Pavlo Tabakov, VF "Picardiyska Tertsiya" were performing along with the best blind singers from Ukraine and Poland.  Spectators, who at this time were from all over Ukraine (Lugansk, Donetsk, Kyiv, Odessa, Rivne, Mukachevo, Kharkiv, Kirovograd, etc.), were once again surprised by the sightless performers from the Crimea (Zera Kiіradzhieva and Stepan Goncharenko), Zhytomyr (ensemble "Harmony"), Lviv (Svetlana Pashkina), Rivne (Victoria Dudik), Vinnitsa (Natalia Slyusarchuk), Ternopil (Mykola Prishnovsky), Mukachevo (Maria Shvardak and Vasyl Chovban).

Originality was added by colorful expressions of the permanent host of the concert –H.A. of Ukraine Alexandra Bonkovska and brilliant performance of the orchestra of the National Theatre named after M. Zankovetska directed by H.A. Bohdan Mochurada.

Besides round of applause, flowers and kind words, which all the performers received from the audience, the youngest participant of the project - a 13-year-old Victoria Dudik - received an unexpected gift from Rinat Akhmetov's Foundation "Development of Ukraine" - a laptop, which the blind can use.

Let us remind that last year under the "Targeted Assistance" program the Foundation "Development of Ukraine" started cooperation with Lviv regional branch of the Ukrainian Union of Persons with Disabilities and its executive director Oksana Potimko - founder of the  project "Open life." The first step was a constant help with the Ukrainian seminar with the participation of international experts, one of the most interesting events in which was a master-class on the first Ukrainian tactile books. In November, the Foundation presented the specialized equipment (printer for Braille with software and consumable materials) for the Resource Center of Educational Information Technology for persons with special needs. Cooperation will continue in 2013.