The Ukrainian Culture Centre

15th February 2024 The Ukrainian Culture Centre   Michael and Oksana Holod

The Ukrainian Culture Centre in Nottingham is run by the Nottingham Branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB). Both Michael and Oksana’s parents were ‘displaced’ to the UK, following the second World War and they were born as British citizens, but with other first, second and third generation Ukrainians try to keep alive the culture and traditions of their parents. For more than 70 years it has fostered a wide range of activities and groups including a Ukrainian language school, a choir, orchestra, dancing, theatrical and youth groups. Since the war on 24^th February in 2022, Ukrainians living in Nottingham have come together to offer unity, solidarity to support to try and alleviate the suffering of those refugees fleeing the Motherland. They have tried to empower these individuals, by acting locally as a co-ordination and information hub and a primary point of contact for new families. However, the generosity of the British people has been phenomenal and appreciated deeply and sincerely by every Ukrainian.

The success of their efforts has seen their Saturday school quadruple the number of its students, and about 80 people attend free ESOL courses set up with qualified teachers/volunteers to help new families overcome the language barrier.  They have established a series of employment and employability training aiming to equip new arrivals with specific skills required for the UK job market, although many arrivals are highly qualified professionals. They offer ‘drop-in’ sessions where representatives of various organisations attend to provide 1:1 consultation from the:  Home Office; DWP; NHS; school admissions; County and City Councils; Red Cross, Police and Fire services.

Their home is Clawson Lodge in Carrington and is a Grade 2 listed building, which comes with high maintenance costs at about £2k per month and although they have had financial support from the Council, it’s now coming to an end, so fund raising is becoming a high priority.

Various questions and answers followed, mainly focused on the relationships and activities of the centre and the volunteers, with the Vote of Thanks from Rob, thanking Michael and Oksana for their informative presentation (most of us were not aware that there existed a Ukrainian Cultural Centre), to which the members joined him with the usual round of applause                             AR