EDMONTON, Alberta – Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan once said that “a genocide begins with the killing of one man – not for what he has done, but because of who he is.” This concept reflects the tragic truth of all genocides and the Holodomor is no exception.
The Edmonton branch of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women (LUCW) established a Holodomor Essay contest in 2020 to help young adults develop a deeper understanding of the Holodomor – the Ukrainian Famine Genocide of 1932-1933. The Contest encouraged junior and senior high school students in Ukrainian-English bilingual programs in the Edmonton area and the Ivan Franko School of Ukrainian Studies to learn more about the Holodomor, to honor the victims and to understand why it is important to remember this particular historical event in 2020.