President of UCCA moderates first conference on the Internet (04/29/01)

President of UCCA moderates first conference on the Internet

by Tamara Gallo
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

NEW YORK - UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. hosted his first on-line Internet chat on Wednesday afternoon, April 4. Designed to bring the UCCA into the modern era with a discussion about the future of the Ukrainian American community in the 21st century, the chat brought forth myriad questions about how to involve youth/students in active community life, as well as questions regarding the UCCA's work in Washington and current events in Ukraine.

The discussion primarily focused on the Ukrainian student movement in the United States. Mr. Sawkiw described the UCCA's support for the revitalization of the Federation of Ukrainian Student Organizations of America (known by its Ukrainian-language acronym, SUSTA) mentioning also that the UCCA has donated $5,000 for SUSTA's convention, which is likely to take place on June 7-10 in the Midwest. After nearly 10 years of dormancy, SUSTA and its network of university Ukrainian clubs will once again promote Ukrainian American issues on college campuses.

Participants of the chat also wanted to focus in on what captivates Ukrainian student life and how they will participate in the development of the Ukrainian community once they leave higher educational institutions. Proposals were discussed on convening a conference on the modern Ukrainian community in the United States and exploring methods of keeping the Ukrainian culture and heritage alive, while also finding paths for development of diverse new interests.

Though discussion centered on the role of the Ukrainian American community in the 21st century, other facets of the chat included prospects for unity of the Ukrainian American community in the near future. The UCCA president explained the current situation and elaborated on the UCCA's position that unity benefits the entire community.

"Following the 18th Congress of Ukrainians in America," stated Mr. Sawkiw, "the UCCA established a five-person commission to begin talks with the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and those Ukrainian organizations not represented in either umbrella organization. Talks have already begun with the various organizations."

The Internet interlocutors were interested also in some of the current work the UCCA has been doing for the benefit of the community. Questions were posed about the disbursement of Social Security benefits for retired U.S. citizens living in Ukraine, as well as a discussion on how to activate the newest "Fourth Wave" immigrants into organized community life. In response to the latter issue, the UCCA president emphasized that the current established community must first understand the reasons for the recent migration to the United States and how we can help this wave of immigrants integrate into our organized communities.

"The UCCA has already addressed this issue by forming a 'Fourth Wave' Committee, made up entirely of activists from the newest immigration and relies upon their knowledge of the challenges facing their immigration. Extending a helping hand to the newest immigration includes helping in some social services, but also getting them interested in various cultural and sporting events that help to unite all Ukrainians in our community," commented the UCCA president.

Furthermore, the UCCA has renovated a room within its premises in Manhattan to accommodate a meeting room and computer facilities to assist the newest immigrations to learn English, obtain computer knowledge and skills, as well as provide social services for them.

As the chat was winding past its first hour, the UCCA president thanked all participants and invited everyone to partake in the next regularly scheduled Internet chat, which will be held on Wednesday, May 2, at 1 p.m. (EDT).

The UCCA will hold regular Internet chats on a monthly basis, generally the first Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. (EDT). Interested individuals are asked to go to the UCCA's website http://www.ucca.org/ and enter Room No. 1.

The topic of the second live internet chat will be "The Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-1933 - What More Can the Community Do?"

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