Ukrainian and Armenian institutes sponsor symposium on genocide

EDMONTON - The Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center (UCRDC), the Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, the St. Vladimir Institute, and the Zoryan Institute for Contemporary Armenian Research and Documentation sponsored a symposium titled "Genocide Remembered: Armenians, 1915-1923; Ukrainians, 1932-1933."

Prof. Wasyl Janischewskyj, chairman of the board of the UCRDC, opened the April 13 symposium as the first joint effort of the Armenian and Ukrainian communities. George Shirinian of the Zoryan Institute then introduced the film "Armenian Genocide," a production of the Los Angeles school board. Following the screening, Prof. Jurij Darevych of the UCRDC outlined the process of making "Harvest of Despair," a film about the Great Famine of 1932-1933.

Dr. Lorne Shirinian of the Royal Military College presented a paper, "Voices of Genocide," which examined the personal and cultural significance of the survivors' memoirs.

Dr. Frank Sysyn of the Jacyk Center then spoke on the question of "Making the Famine a Public Issue: The Role of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the 1980s." His paper was a shortened version of the one he delivered at the International Genocide Conference held in Yerevan in 1995 under the sponsorship of the Zoryan Institute on the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

A lively question-and-answer period followed, enriched by participants from outside the two communities. Lesia Waschuk, a member of the board of St. Vladimir's Institute, closed the proceedings.

Symposium participants had the opportunity to visit a special mounting at the UCRDC of the exhibition "Akcja Wisla" on the 50th anniversary of the deportation of Ukrainians in Poland. They also visited the exhibition "Ukraine in Print" at the Ukrainian Museum and an exhibition of the works of the noted painter Volodymyr Makarenko in the Skylight Gallery.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 25, 1997, No. 21, Vol. LXV

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