Alberta physicians and Kobza to publish textbooks (01/24/93)

Alberta physicians and Kobza to publish textbooks

TORONTO - The Ukrainian Physicians of Alberta have joined forces with the Toronto-based Kobza International Corp. to complete the publication of medical textbooks for universities in Ukraine.

The first book to be published will be a Ukrainian translation of the fundamental work "Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine," a textbook used by the majority of universities in Europe and North America. The translation of the text is now well under way and the book is scheduled for completion in April.

Depending on the availability of financial resources, these organizations plan to publish other important medical books, including A. Forrest's "Principles and Practice of Surgery." All of these books will be published by the Kyyiv-based Oriy publishing house, established and run by Kobza International.

The publication of medical textbooks in Ukrainian will not only raise the standard of medical education at universities in Ukraine, but will contribute to the formulation and developments of Ukrainian medical terminology. During the Soviet period, Russian was the official language of the majority of universities in Ukraine. Even today, despite political changes and the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state, most Ukrainian universities offer courses in such branches of science as medicine, mathematics, physics or economics only in Russian. This is due primarily to the lack of proper textbooks.

The project to publish Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine was initiated by two members of the Ukrainian Physicians of Alberta, Dr. W. Maksymowych and Dr. Orest Talpash, both from Edmonton. They started a fund-raising campaign among Ukrainian physicians in Alberta and contacted Kobza, which readily agreed to take on the responsibility of organizing the actual publishing process. Having received permission from the publisher (Churchill Livingstone), two experienced translators from Ukraine were hired to translate the text into Ukrainian.

However, taking into account the fact that Ukrainian medical terminology was intentionally Russified during the Soviet period, the organizers decided to find specialists in Ukraine who could verify, and, in some instances, coin modern medical terminology in Ukrainian. For this reason, a special commission led by People's Deputy Dr. Valeriy Ivasiuk was formed. After a thorough revision of all medical terms, the textbook will set the standard for other medical books to be published in Ukrainian. Upon completion of the editorial process, the book will be printed and bound in the Kobza printing facility located in Kyyiv.

The generosity of Ukrainian physicians in Alberta made the undertaking of this project possible. In order to express their gratitude for this support, the project organizers will list the names of donors at the beginning of the book. In addition, each donor will receive a complimentary copy of the book in return for his tax-deductible donation.

Kobza International Corp. also has its own program of scholarly and literary publications. Among the publications being prepared in its publishing house, Oriy, are the Ukrainian translation of the collected works of Carl Gustav Jung, selected works of the well-known Ukrainian poet and writer Vasyl Barka, as well as several books on the history of Ukraine and Ukrainian culture.

However, the fate of these projects will largely depend on the financial support of the Ukrainian community in Canada and the U.S. The organizers believe that the project to publish high-quality university textbooks represents a novel and viable way to help Ukraine.

Kobza also encourages Ukrainian professionals and scholars, especially those specializing in economics, political science or engineering, to provide suggestions for textbooks that would be useful for Ukrainian universities.

Further inquiries concerning the publication of medical books can be directed to Dr. Maksymowych at the University of Alberta, (403) 492-1964; fax, (403) 492-6055; or to Dr. Talpash, (403) 428-6772. Inquiries concerning all other publications will be answered by Marko Stech of Kobza International Corp., (416) 253-9314; fax, (416) 253-9515.

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