A joint project of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and the Aspen institute takes a quick start

February 16 - 22 within the framework of Aspen - Ukraine in Yalta there was held a seminar Responsible leadership involving more than 20 representatives of different fields of politics, public service, business, NGO and the mass media.

Aspen - Ukraine project is implemented by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and the Aspen Institute jointly and is aimed at promoting principles of responsible leadership based on the fundamental values as well as on sustaining an open dialogue on the vital problems of a person and society.

Responsible leadership seminar is a project's first step. Earlier with a support of the Foundation several Ukrainians participated in the Aspen Institute's program in the US. During the seminar participants discussed the aspects of leader's responsibility to society in the context of the concepts of a human nature, society and human rights, law and equity, personal property and social conflict, equality and freedom, etc. Perused were works by Aristotle, Hobbs, Russo, Skovoroda, Tolstoy, Havel and other.

According to Alexander Kyrychenko, director of the advance training centre of the Diplomatic academy of Ukraine, "seminar has fulfilled its goal of making the groundwork for communication on the basics of contemporary Ukrainian's values".

Lyudmila Parashchenko, director of Kyiv business lyceum said "Basically, seminar enhanced my apprehensive skills; I believe that it could well become a point of consolidation of Ukrainian leaders".

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, MP, commented that "seminar absolutely met my expectations. It was a true pleasure, I learned a lot, even outlined some new ideas, and, most importantly, made some new friends".

Founded 195 the Aspen institute builds a wide international networks that presently includes a regional institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lion, Tokyo, New Delhi and Bucharest. The institute engages intellectuals from different fields to discuss and solve issues confronting society when its traditional institutions cannot take pace of the society's evolution.