Toronto's Canadian Friends of Ukraine report on activity, elect new executive (07/28/96)

Toronto's Canadian Friends of Ukraine report on activity, elect new executive

TORONTO - The Toronto branch of the Canadian Friends of Ukraine held its annual meeting to elect a new executive on June 11. The meeting was chaired by Ukrainian radio and news journalist Walentina Rodak.

The large audience at the Canadian Ukrainian Art Foundation in Toronto included CFU members, guests from the Ukrainian World Congress and Ukrainian Canadian Congress, as well as members of the general public, and a guest speaker, former Canadian Member of Parliament Andrew Witer.

The Canadian Friends of Ukraine is a Toronto-based non-profit organization whose activities include educational and humanitarian projects in Ukraine. It is best known for its recent "Project Rebirth" (Vidrodzhennia), which has helped establish a series of Canada-Ukraine Library Centers in Russified cities in eastern Ukraine, namely, Luhanske, Donetske and Kharkiv.

In his address, outgoing President Bohdan Myndiuk stated that one of the most satisfying accomplishments of his term in office was the successful re-unification of two formerly fragmented organizations: Canadian Friends of Rukh and the Canadian Association for the Development of Ukraine. Recognizing the need to provide non-partisan assistance to Ukraine in various areas of endeavor, in 1995 the two organizations voted to amalgamate as the "Canadian Friends of Ukraine."

In his report, John Kuzyk, chair of Project Rebirth's Canada-Ukraine Library Center project, underscored the recent success of the latest library center established in 1995 on the site of the Korolenko State Library in Kharkiv, which received 22,000 books and periodicals from the Canadian Friends of Ukraine. The collection covers a wide array of topics, ranging from economics, politics and literature to law, engineering and medicine. As a result of these efforts, these library centers have gained the recognition and support of two other regions in Ukraine. Consequently, the minister of culture of the Crimea and the prime minister of the Crimea have offered a site for the 1996 opening of a fourth Canadian-sponsored library - in the strategically important city of Symferopil.

During the proceedings of the annual meeting, the president and vice-president of the Shevchenko Scientific Society of Canada, respectively, Dr. Wolodymyr Mackiw and Dr. George Kurys, announced that the society was donating 1,000 copies of two of its recent publications: Collected Papers (1993), comprising six contributing authors, and Bohdan Stebelskyj's "Ideas and Creativity" (1991), edited by Oleksandra Kopach. The books will be housed in the CFU's existing and future library centers across Ukraine.

The report delivered by executive director Lesia Shymko outlined the activities of the CFU in the area of government and media relations, and the dissemination of information. In 1995, the CFU bureau provided news, government and current affairs information to the Ukrainian parliamentary press gallery in Kyiv as well as to embassies and consulates in North America. With the success of the library projects in Ukraine, the CFU also maintains ongoing contacts with the Canadian ambassador to Ukraine, who has officiated at most of the library openings. The part also stressed the need to maintain a strong dialogue with Canada's Department of External Affairs, which, in the past, failed to recognize the importance of developing assistance programs for eastern Ukraine, a region neglected by government-sponsored projects.

Following the delivery of reports, the Canadian Friends of Ukraine proceeded to elect its new executive. Bohdan Wynnyckyj, a 32-year-old environmental planner and former treasurer of the CFU's Toronto branch, was elected president. Also elected to the executive were the following: Prof. Jurij Darewych and Prof. Orest Subtelny (co-vice-presidents); Wolodymyr Molodecky (recording secretary); Bohdan Myndiuk (treasurer); Danylo Darewych, Orest Dzulynsky, Maria Fischer-Slysh, Stepan Horlatch, Olia Kalymon, Bohdan Klufas, Victor Korotky, John Kuzyk, Irena Moroz, Walentiana Rodak, Jaroslav Semcesen, Nadia Skop, and Petro Work, members-at-large.

Elected to the auditing committee were: Ihor Welyhorky (chair), Andriy Komorowsky and Adrian Ruzycky (members). Victor Lishchyna was elected legal advisor.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Wynnyckyj underscored the fact that a number of young Ukrainian Canadians had been elected to the new board. He emphasized the need for community organizations to include young professionals, many of whom feel displaced in the aftermath of Ukraine's newly found independence. There exists confusion and even isolation on the part of younger Ukrainians who have lost sight of their role in the community vis-à-vis both Canada and Ukraine.

Mr. Wynnyckyj underlined the importance of continuing the CFU's educational and humanitarian projects and revitalizing its membership and support base. As former treasurer and now president, Mr. Wynnyckyj vowed to make creative fund-raising a priority for CFU's Toronto branch to build on the organization's current financial base, thereby ensuring the realization and expansion of its ongoing educational and humanitarian projects.

Following the election of the new executive, Mr. Witer, a former member of the Canadian Parliament, addressed the annual meeting. Mr. Witer, a partner in the consulting firm of Romyr and Associates, delivered an overview of recent events in Ukraine.

He began his address by outlining the reasons for President Leonid Kuchma's recent dismissal of Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk. Among the contributing factors was Mr. Marchuk's failure to carry out structural changes in the state sector, leading to the current payments crisis. Rampant dissatisfaction by the Donetske coal-miners over broken promises exemplified this. A second factor was the statements made by Mr. Marchuk in the Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo Niedieli in which he criticized President Kuchma, accusing him of purposely isolating him from certain decisions and excluding him from several key Cabinet meetings. It is also possible, according to Mr. Witer, that President Kuchma fears Mr. Marchuk as a political arch-foe and eventual contender for the presidency.

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