September 16, 2016

Ukrainian World Congress holds annual general meeting in Kyiv

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Participants of the annual general meeting of the Ukrainian World Congress held in Kyiv.

KYIV – The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) held its three-day annual general meeting at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University on August 25-27 with 184 delegates and guests from 26 countries participating.

The official portion of the meeting started with prayers led by the primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, respectively, Patriarchs Filaret and Sviatoslav, and a tribute to Ukrainian heroes who fought for an independent Ukraine, followed by a performance of the evocative “Plyve Kacha” by the Dnipro Choir.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by the Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy. Participants of the UWC meeting were also greeted by the Minister of Culture Yevhen Nyschuk; Acting Minister of Health of Ukraine Dr. Ulana Suprun; the rector of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Dr. Leonid Hubersky; Members of Parliament of Ukraine Refat Chubarov, Valeriy Patskan and Ivan Krulko; Special Envoy of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights Mykola Kuleba; the director of the International Institute for Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations of the National University Lviv Polytechnic, Dr. Iryna Kluchkovska; and the prorector for academic works of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Dr. Roman Gladyshevskii.

The meeting also received written greetings from Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, National Olympic Committee President Sergey Bubka and the rector of the National University Lviv Polytechnic, Dr. Yuriy Bobalo.

UWC President Eugene Czolij delivered an address highlighting the main aspects of the work done and the key priorities for the Ukrainian diaspora led by the UWC, which are currently focused on assisting Ukraine in the defense of its independence and territorial integrity.

Over the course of three days, annual general meeting participants had the opportunity to hear reports on UWC activities from the past year and discuss future plans during five roundtable discussions on these topics: “Coordinating Support for Ukraine,” “UWC Humanitarian Initiatives in Aid of Ukraine,” “Promoting a Positive Image of Ukraine,” “Celebrating the UWC’s 50th Anniversary,” and “Supporting the Economic Development of Ukraine.”

The following government officials and ambassadors participated in the roundtables: the acting minister of health of Ukraine, Dr. Suprun; Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko; Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Nataliya Mykolska; the special envoy of the president of Ukraine for children’s rights Mr. Kuleba; National Deputy and Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Foreign Affairs Committee Hanna Hopko; National Deputy and head of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Artur Gerasymov; Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk; and Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Mykola Kulinich.

Other participants were: advisor to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Maryana Kahanyak; the director of the International Institute for Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations, Dr. Iryna Kluchkovska; the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Andriy Hunder; the project coordinator for monitoring human rights violations in eastern Ukraine and Crimea of the NGO Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Romantsova; the president and CEO of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Jaroslawa Johnson; the president of Caritas Ukraine, Andriy Waskovych; and the general manager (CEO) of Kleynod Oleksiy Zolotarov.

Also participating in the roundtables were diaspora representatives: Ukrainian NationalWomen’s League of America President Marianna Zajac; the president of the Charitable Foundation Nove Pokolinni, Ruslana Wrzesnewskyj; the general manager of the Karpaty Credit Union in Australia, Jaroslaw Duma; the president of the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany, Lesya Shramko; UWC Secretary General and President of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations Stefan Romaniw; UWC Treasurer and President of the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce Zenon Potichny; UWC Vice-President and President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Paul Grod; UWC Vice-President Olena Koszarny; the chair of the UWC International Council for Media Relations, Irene Mycak; the Chair of the UWC International Council for Cultural Affairs, Anna Kisil; and UWC Director of Humanitarian Initiatives Victor Hetmanczuk.

Upon concluding three days of deliberations, delegates adopted resolutions that will guide the activities of the Ukrainian World Congress. Mr. Czolij commented that the annual general meeting “was very successful and set the course for our future work.”

During the course of their gathering in Kyiv, UWC delegates led by the UWC president laid flowers at monuments to Taras Shevchenko, victims of the Holodomor and the heroes of the Heavenly Brigade.

UWC delegates also participated in a special evening celebrating the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of Ukraine’s independence organized by Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister for economic development and trade, Mr. Kubiv.

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