American Friends for Ukraine launches activities in Washington

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - The American Friends for Ukraine Inc. (AFU), a new cultural and educational foundation established last year in New York, launched its Washington activities with a reception on May 14, the first day of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's visit to the U.S. capital.

Among the guests at the reception were the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Green Miller, and his wife, Suzanne, representatives from the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, from the administration and Congress, and from the Washington business, cultural and Ukrainian American communities.

The goals of the foundation, said AFU President Richard Murphy in his welcoming remarks, "are to increase the American people's awareness about Ukraine, its history, culture and importance in world affairs, and to promote friendly ties between our two nations and their people."

The foundation is starting its program with two major cultural events, Mr. Murphy said: it is bringing the Kyiv Chamber Choir to the United States later this year and organizing a large Ukrainian folk costume exhibit at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York and taking it on a national tour in the fall of 1998.

The Kyiv Chamber Choir will perform in Washington on December 20, under the aegis of the Washington Performing Arts Society and the George Mason Center for the Performing Arts, and at Carnegie Hall in New York the following day. Mr. Murphy said a tour of other North American cities is being planned.

He said that AFU will be organizing study tours to Ukraine for professional people, particularly Congressional staffers and journalists, "in an effort to increase their awareness of Ukraine."

Also addressing the reception guests, Melanne Verveer, deputy chief of staff to the first lady, noted that Ambassador Miller had approached her a few months ago about getting the Kyiv Chamber Choir to perform at the White House during their stay in Washington. "I don't have an answer yet," she said, "but he's hard at work."

Ms. Verveer said that with AFU's planned exchange programs, "We can help to build democracy at the people-to-people level, where it really gets built."

Ambassador Miller admitted to becoming "a hopeless addict" of Ukrainian choral music, especially sacred choral music. "There is no place in the world that sings so well," he told the audience.

Of his and his wife's favorite, the Kyiv Chamber Choir, he said "this is a musical group that is worthy of world recognition. With 19 absolutely splendid voices, it is one of the finest musical instruments that I've ever had the privilege to hear."

All who have visited Ukraine recently recognize the richness of its talent in the fine and performing arts, Mr. Miller said. "There is great creativity under way, and we deserve in this country to know more about it, and this foundation will do much to bring that to bear."

Pointing out that part - "if not the best part" - of the great Byzantium exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum in New York comes from Ukraine, he said a link has been established between the Met and the great museums of Ukraine and expressed the hope that such links will be established and strengthened in other areas as well.

AFU Founder and Chairperson Vira Hladun indicated that the foundation, through its various projects, will try to undo the years of confusion about Ukraine in the United States.

"The AFU will educate and enlighten the American public about Ukraine," she said, about its unique history, culture and language.

The foundation will conduct exchange programs for professors, teachers and students as well as for educational training groups in business, medicine, politics, law and the media, she added.

"Only through personal contact will the true learning experience flourish," Ms. Hladun said.

"Ukraine now has the possibility to become a very great country, and I believe it will do so. It won't be easy, but Ukraine has all the earmarks."

"If ever Ukraine had an opportunity, it has one now," Ms. Hladun said and called on all to help in achieving this goal.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 25, 1997, No. 21, Vol. LXV

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