Ps & Bs convention to focus on diversity (07/01/01)

Ps & Bs convention to focus on diversity

OTTAWA - The next convention of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation (UCPBF) will be held on October 4-5 in Winnipeg at the Fairmont Hotel one day prior to the conclave of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC).

The highlight of the one-and-a-half-day convention will be a town hall discussion on diversity to be carried nationally on CBC. The secretary of state for multiculturalism has been invited to participate.

Eugene Uzwyshyn, the chair of the organizing group, said "We are trying to prepare a convention that will contribute to policy development, organizational effectiveness and expose visitors to some outstanding experiences."

The UCPBF convention will celebrate 40 years of the organization's work since its founding in Winnipeg in 1961. It will focus on the national consultation results that the UCPBF has been conducting in several cities across Canada, including Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton. Dr. Myroslav Shkandrij will present a synopsis of the findings Thursday, October 4.

"We have held national consultations and prepared a road-map of what needs to be done about diversity in Canada and our relations with Ukraine," said Oksana Bashuk Hepburn, president of the UCPBF. "Now it's time to implement. The convention will vote on the matter."

The UCPBF's prestigious Nation-building Awards will be presented at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on the evening of October 4. "Some of the previous winners include such notables as Lloyd Axworthy, Roy Romanow, Ivan Fecan and Terry Ewanshan," said Peter Sorokan, vice-president, who is coordinating the awards. "We have many worthy members in the community who contribute to Professional Achievement, Business Achievement - Achievement by a Youth and Humanitarian Achievement, the four categories of awards. It's time to honor them."

The awards will be presented against the backdrop of a preview of the "Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde 1910-1935 featuring 70 works from the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv which are being shown outside of Ukraine for the first time.

The UCPBF embraces 17 clubs and associations across Canada. It has been dynamic in policy formulation in the last few years, principally in two areas: Canadian diversity and Canada-Ukraine relations.

"Policy guides our life. The only way we can influence important issues is by speaking up; silence does not produce leadership," said Ms. Bashuk Hepburn, who is stepping down as the president. "We have established a national reputation of stating clearly our positions, be it on the situation in Ukraine, internment or Canadian diversity. We have made these views known to the Ukrainian community and to the government. I am sure the momentum will continue with the next executive," she added.

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