The project for the group from Lyceum 25 in Zhytomyr originated from a request by the Ukrainian National Commission for UNESCO to the European National Commissions for UNESCO to organize short-term stays and summer programs for Ukrainian children and young people. The school in Shytomyr is an educational institution belonging to the global network of UNESCO Associated Schools (ASPnet), which was struck by a rocket and largely destroyed during the first weeks of Russia’s war of aggression.

The German National Commission for UNESCO took up the request from the Ukrainian National Commission and, thanks to the efforts of the school community at Burghardt-Gymnasium—a UNESCO project school in Baden-Württemberg—found a way to implement the pilot project. The group from Lyceum 25 in Zhytomyr consists of a total of 14 students aged 11 to 16. The stay in Buchen in the Odenwald took place from July 6 to 28, 2022.