Michel Tereshchenko, a descendant of the famous Ukrainian industrialist and philanthropist Tereshchenko family, visited the Hennadiy Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine at the invitation of Director Ihor Ostash.
The visit has special symbolic significance, as the history of the Academy building is inextricably linked to the philanthropic activities of this family. From 1873, the building housed the Kyiv Real School, and in 1901, thanks to voluntary donations from Mykola Tereshchenko and his son Ivan Tereshchenko, a school church decorated with iconographic images of the Tereshchenko patrons was consecrated in the assembly hall of the educational institution.
Today, the former church is home to the Academy's ceremonial hall, whose interior and wall paintings refer to the spiritual past of the institution and emphasize its role not only as an educational center but also as a space where the high values and moral guidelines of future diplomats are formed.
Together with his family, Mr. Tereshchenko learned about the history of the Academy and toured the ceremonial hall. The meeting became a living link between the past and the present, a reminder of the continuity of the Ukrainian tradition of patronage.
Following the visit, Director of the Academy Ihor Ostash and Michel Tereshchenko agreed to cooperate in restoring the memory of the distinguished Tereshchenko family within these walls and implementing joint cultural and educational projects.