Projects in Ukraine, World Congress of Ukrainians highlight discussion at UCCA executive meeting (04/06/03)

Projects in Ukraine, World Congress of Ukrainians highlight discussion at UCCA executive meeting

by Tamara Gallo
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

NEW YORK - The UCCA executive board met on Saturday, March 15, for a regularly scheduled meeting at its national headquarters in lower Manhattan. A moment of silence was offered in memory of Mykhajlo Spontak, the UCCA's treasurer and devoted community activist who passed away on February 14, as well as for Slava Stetsko, a member of Ukraine's Parliament and leader of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, who dedicated her life to the fulfillment of Ukrainian independence and its nation-building.

Following the reading of the minutes of the previous Executive Board meeting, a discussion ensued about the UCCA's projects in Ukraine; preparations for the 19th Congress of Ukrainians in America; the upcoming eighth World Congress of Ukrainians; and the 70th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine.

The focus of the UCCA's activity in Ukraine this year and next year remains the upcoming presidential elections slated for October 2004. Having actively participated in all of Ukraine's elections, most recently the March 2002 parliamentary elections with the fourth largest elections observer group, the UCCA executive board offered recommendations for continuing its civic education programs.

Roksolana Lozynskyj, speaking on behalf of the UCCA's Civic Education Commission, emphasized the need to provide the Ukrainian people with as much information as possible regarding the elections, their procedures and the candidates. The UCCA will research various grant opportunities from public and private foundations, and will issue an appeal to the Ukrainian American community for support.

The UCCA's Council on Aid to Ukrainians (CAU) presented a unique opportunity to produce and distribute "History of Ukraine," in CD format to all of Ukraine's schools, universities and public libraries. The manufacturer of the CD has agreed to update the "History of Ukraine" with a section dedicated to the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States.

The CAU's efforts in previous projects, such as the distribution of audiocassettes of Ukrainian folktales and Christmas carols to Ukrainian grammar schools and libraries, was a success, judging by the articles in Ukraine's newspapers and the notes of thanks from countless schools and libraries in Ukraine.

Furthermore, as Ukraine prepares for the upcoming presidential elections in 2004, the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine, under the patronage of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, is sponsoring the "Not To Be Forgotten" exhibit in the United States. This exhibit is dedicated to the years of repressive Soviet policies towards the Ukrainian people, highlighting the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. The funds raised during the tour will be used to display this exhibit in various cities throughout Ukraine as a pre-electoral campaign to inform the Ukrainian public about the atrocities of the past and develop a framework for Ukraine's nation-building process.

In commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to the United States, the UCCA will sponsor an exhibit of Ukrainian American artists in Ukraine's major museums. This exhibit has received support from the Ministry of Culture in Ukraine, as well as the United States Embassy in Kyiv.

Additional projects will focus on the UCCA's campaign to revoke the Pulitzer Prize awarded to New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, a denier of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933, as well as efforts to counter attempts to give the Russian language legal status within Ukraine.

Preparations were discussed for the 19th Congress of Ukrainians in America, the quadrennial convention of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. The greater Philadelphia area was chosen as the next site of the Congress of Ukrainians in America and will have as its theme "Unite, Brothers of Mine" - a reference to unity within the Ukrainian community and in commemoration of the 190th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko and the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Shevchenko monument in Washington. A special committee for the upcoming Congress was formed with Ihor Kusznir, head of the Philadelphia UCCA branch, as coordinator.

A discussion also proceeded regarding the upcoming eighth World Congress of Ukrainians, which is to be held in Kyiv on August 18-21. After a brief presentation of the delegate structure (13 from the UCCA and three from each national organization) and organizational framework of the Congress, the UCCA president proposed that four delegates represent the UCCA executive board with the other nine delegates to represent UCCA branches in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Yonkers, Florida and New Jersey. Additionally, recommendations were proposed for individuals from the UCCA to participate in the roundtable panel discussions pertaining to youth, new immigrants from Ukraine and the role of the Ukrainian language within the diaspora.

In an extensive discussion, members of the executive board conferred about the continuing campaign to focus more attention on the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. The Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS), the UCCA's Washington office, will prepare a press packet for the 70th anniversary commemorations of the Famine. The kit is to include a bibliography of reference material regarding the famine, statistics, an overview of Stalin's genocidal policy toward Ukrainians and other information.

The UCCA will send another letter to the Pulitzer Committee with an attached copy of Prof. Taras Hunczak's recent article about Duranty (The Ukrainian Weekly, March 2). Furthermore, the UCCA will begin a simultaneous informational campaign directed at The New York Times, reminding the newspaper's publishers and editors of the unethical standards of one of its revered correspondents. A collection of material is also being conducted by the UCCA to prepare a teaching guide that can be used in the high school curriculum as a history lesson in social studies courses.

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