U.S.-Ukraine Foundation celebrates its 10th anniversary with new projects (12/09/01)

U.S.-Ukraine Foundation celebrates its 10th anniversary with new projects

by Olenka Dobczanska

WASHINGTON -The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, a publicly supported tax-exempt non-profit organization dedicated to the democratic and economic development of Ukraine, is currently marking its 10th anniversary.

Foundation President Nadia K. McConnell, a recipient of Ukraine's Presidential Award of the Third Order for her work in promoting and strengthening U.S.-Ukraine relations over the last decade, announced two new program initiatives in celebration of the anniversary.

The foundation has initiated its new Community Development Project (CDP), which is intended to encourage U.S. community economic development, by bringing together volunteers who will identify and encourage business opportunities in their community with businesses in Ukraine. Volunteers will also encourage other U.S. community benefits through civic, cultural and educational partnerships with counterpart Ukrainian organizations. The foundation will support the formation of community development committees and will facilitate the exchange of services and communication with their Ukrainian partners.

The USUF's other new project, Assisting the Legal Sector of Ukraine, aims to support legal professionals and students in Ukraine as they learn to function in a rule of law democracy. The foundation seeks funding that could enable short-term exchange programs between U.S. and Ukrainian law professors, the publication of Ukrainian legal textbooks, non-governmental organizational (NGO) support, and funding for students to purchase legal textbooks.

In reference to the new projects, Mrs. McConnell said, "We believe that these two new projects will further integrate U.S. citizens and society in general with Ukraine. They continue our 10-year history of supporting democratic and free market institutions in Ukraine and the U.S. I encourage all those individuals interested in taking an active role in supporting Ukraine to volunteer in our new projects. The foundation needs your support."

Both new projects build on the foundation's work over the past 10 years, through such major projects as the U.S.-Ukraine Community Partnerships Project for Local Government Education and Training, the Constitutional Court Project, the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy and the Kennan Kyiv Project.

Through the Community Partnerships Project for Local Government Training and Education (CPP), the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation has applied its mission of facilitating democratic development, free market reform and human rights to the local level in Ukraine. Established in 1997 and funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), CPP promotes the improvement of local government practices through the activities of 14 partnerships between U.S. and Ukrainian cities.

Via the CPP, Ukrainian and American local leaders set out to address problems that the Ukrainians have identified within their communities. Internships, exchanges, and direct personal contacts between the Ukrainian and American teams form an important component for each partnership and lay the foundation for mutual trust and cooperation.

One of CPP's biggest strengths is its four regional training centers (RTCs) located in Cherkasy, Donetsk, Kherson and Lviv. RTCs allow CPP's reach to extend to dozens of communities that are not officially partnered. RTCs serve as centers for local government support in Ukraine, providing access to education and training programs in public administration to all Ukrainian communities. Since CPP began, RTCs have held 446 seminars for about 5,300 local leaders from 280 cities across Ukraine.

In 1998, USUF started its legal sector work by establishing the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Project. This program helped spread awareness and understanding of the new Constitution of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court to Ukrainian citizens and governmental entities, especially with regard to protecting the constitutional rights and liberties of Ukrainians in affirming the principle of the rule of law. The project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

A booklet, "Learn About the Constitutional Court," written in a question and answer format and specifically intended for Ukrainian citizens, was commissioned and published. In addition, advisory boards in the United States and in Ukraine prioritized issues related to the Constitution of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine for a series of seminars that were held in various regions of Ukraine.

Over the past 10 years, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation has developed significant expertise in a number of public policy areas. For example, in 1994 the Parliamentary Development Project (PDP) was established after Ivan Pliushch, then chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, asked the USUF to provide technical assistance and support for the Task Force on Parliamentary Reform. His request eventually led to the founding of PDP, a USAID-funded cooperative effort of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

During the project, USUF project staff worked side by side with deputies and provided them with the necessary information and analysis they needed to make appropriate changes in the Verkhovna Rada's procedures and structures.

PDP has translated into Ukrainian over 200 documents of comparative information or analytical pieces for the Verkhovna Rada's reference. PDP also disseminated valuable information to policy-makers in all branches of the Ukrainian government, academia, and the mass media.

The foundation also partners with the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Kyiv Project (KKP) was initiated in 1999 when the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation signed an agreement with the Kennan Institute to open an office in USUF's Kyiv facility.

The KKP has hosted conferences among Ukrainian scholars on issues such as development, economics, and democratic transition. These conferences have been co-sponsored by other reputable institutions such as the Institute for International Relations of Odesa State University and the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, and have been supported by the U.S. Department of State and the George F. Kennan Fund. Discussions between scholars have continued after the conferences, including efforts in research on development issues contemporary to Ukraine and other nations in transition.

USUF was one of the first Western organizations to establish a physical presence in Kyiv through the founding of the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy (POID) in 1991. Since its establishment, POID's informational services have rendered it a valuable tool in advancing democracy and free-market reform in Ukraine.

With over 40 staffers, the U.S-Ukraine Foundation is headquartered in Washington, and operates through five major cities in Ukraine: Cherkasy, Donetsk, Kherson, Kyiv and Lviv. The foundation creates and sustains channels of communication between the United States and Ukraine, in order to build peace and prosperity through an exchange of information. The foundation is dedicated to strengthening the mutual objectives of the United States and Ukraine, advancing Ukraine as a cornerstone of regional stability and as a full partner in the community of nations.

USUF has been supported by many individual and corporate donors from the Ukrainian American community. Three organizations, the Coordinating Committee to Aid Ukraine, the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee and The Washington Group donated initial funds in 1991 enabling the foundation to embark on its mission.

Since then, the USUF's unique role has been supported by such major institutions as the Bradley Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Eurasia Foundation, Kennan Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Pew Charitable Trusts, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Information Agency.

For more information, contact the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, 733 15th St., NW, Suite 1026, Washington, DC 20005; telephone, (202) 347-4264; fax, (202) 347-4267; e-mail: [email protected]; website, www.usukraine.org.

| Home Page |