Government of Ukraine to open Consulate in Michigan

WARREN, Mich. - The government of Ukraine will officially open its newly established Consulate in the State of Michigan on Saturday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. with a gala event at the Ukrainian Cultural Center (UCC) in Warren.

Attending the opening will be Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, and Dr. Borys Bazylevskyi, consul general of Ukraine in Chicago.

Various Michigan state officials, as well as members of Congress from Michigan have been invited to attend the event.

The program will feature the internationally renowned Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus which will perform songs from its triumphant tour of Ukraine in 2001 during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine. Its artistic director is Oleh Mahlay.

The Consulate of Ukraine in Michigan will be located in the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren. Bohdan Fedorak has been designated honorary consul of Ukraine in Michigan. Mr. Fedorak, president of the Ukrainian Cultural Center, is a highly respected Ukrainian American leader and promoter of Ukrainian culture and expanded economic ties between the state of Michigan and Ukraine.

The Consulate is charged with assisting Ukrainian citizens residing in Michigan and with facilitating trade, cultural and academic programs and exchanges between Ukraine and Michigan. Ukraine will now join the large diplomatic corps located in Michigan, which includes 38 Consulates.

The Consulate will also serve as liaison between Ukraine and the large and highly organized Ukrainian American community in Michigan. There are approximately 200,000 Michiganians who trace their ancestral heritage to Ukraine, including a significant number of new immigrants over the last decade. The community is served by 40 organizations, many of which are based at the Ukrainian Cultural Center.

The chairman of the Committee in Support of the Consulate of Ukraine in Michigan, Borys Potapenko, noted: "The officers and members of the committee constitute the leadership of the Ukrainian American community. It is our collective wish that Michigan, its officials and citizens share in this joyous event. For, whether it be on the local, state or federal levels, Michiganians have stood with the Ukrainian people in their centuries-long quest for independence and, since 1991, in the struggle to give tangible substance to their hard-won freedom."

Mr. Potapenko added: "We look forward to working closely with Honorary Consul Fedorak and his staff in fulfilling the Consulate's mission."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 10, 2002, No. 10, Vol. LXX

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