KYIV – Every year on April 12, Plast, the largest and oldest Ukrainian youth organization, celebrates the anniversary of the first Plast Oath, which is considered the date Ukrainian scouting was formally established. Under the current conditions of the coronavirus quarantine, members of Plast – National Scouting Organization of Ukraine did not cancel the celebration, but instead opted to go online. On the day before the historic date, April 11, Ukrainian scouts simultaneously across the country marked the 108th anniversary online. More than 9,000 people joined the 11-hour broadcast via the Internet. The four largest branches of Plast in Ukraine – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv – all played a part in the program.
“The plan was that I would lead the organizers’ team for Plast Oath Day in Kyiv,” said Bohdan Hultai, coordinator of the online national celebration. “However, by the time event planning began it was March and it was clear that there was no possibility to carry it out as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. Preparations were frozen. Ivan Bratsyun, the head of Kyiv’s Plast branch, suggested organizing the event in an online format. We decided to demonstrate… that despite the quarantine, we are still together,” Mr. Hultai added.