Leadership Conference to focus on Ukrainian American community (10/05/97)

Leadership Conference to focus on Ukrainian American community

by Orest Deychakiwsky

WASHINGTON - The Washington Group is once again providing a venue for the Ukrainian American community to look at itself and plan for its future development.

"We Can Do Better: Expanding Horizons for Ukrainian Americans" is the theme chosen for this year's Leadership Conference, which will be held October 10-12 at the Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington.

"The basic thrust of this year's conference is to convey the message that if the Ukrainian American community re-energizes itself there are many opportunities for success," said TWG President George Masiuk in presenting the conference committee's plans.

In addition to five panel discussions that will develop the theme, the annual three-day gathering will include a keynote address, an awards banquet and dance, as well as a performance by the popular musician Peter Ostroushko.

As in recent years, there will be a pre-conference welcoming reception on Friday evening, October 10, at the Ukrainian Embassy, located in Washington's Georgetown district, within walking distance of the conference and hotel facility.

The conference will commence Saturday morning with the presentation of results of the pre-conference survey and the keynote address. (Keynote and featured speakers had not yet been confirmed by press time, but are expected to be high-ranking U.S. and Ukrainian government officials.)

The first panel discussion, which will try to identify a model for a successful community, will consist of representatives of other ethnic communities - Polish, Italian and French. They will analyze the purpose served by their communities, the services their organizations provide, how these organizations attract new members, and how their communities relate to their ancestral homelands.

The needs and aspirations of the Ukrainian American community will be discussed at a "town hall" discussion following the Saturday luncheon. The panels Saturday afternoon will focus on the state of Ukrainian American organizations and on the influence the community exercises within American society.

The second panel will include representatives of various Ukrainian American organizations who will give their reaction to the views expressed during the town hall discussion, talk about their organizations' condition and future plans. Among the panelists will be long-time community activist, author and chronicler of the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S., Dr. Myron Kuropas; Roma Hajda, president of the Laity Council of the Ukrainian Catholic Church; the Rev. Zenchuk of St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Bohdan Watral, CEO of the Self-Reliance Ukrainian Federal Credit Union of Chicago; and Bohdan Vitvitsky, vice-president of Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Association of New York and New Jersey.

The third panel, on influencing American society, will consist of activists with a particular focus on governmental relations. They will discuss both the mechanics of exercising influence and what the rank-and-file members of the Ukrainian American community need to be doing to raise the profile of their community and of issues of interest to their community. Chaired by Orest Deychakiwsky, staff associate at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the panel will include: Laryssa Chopivsky, chair of the TWG Cultural Fund; Andrew Fedynsky of the Ukrainians for Clinton-Gore campaign, Robert McConnell of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and former assistant attorney general; and Michael Sawkiw, director of the Ukrainian National Information Service in Washington.

The Saturday evening program consists of a cocktail hour reception, the annual awards banquet, and a dance to the music of the Tempo orchestra.

Before the panel discussions resume on Sunday, the Federation of Ukrainian American Business and Professional Associations will hold a business meeting in the early morning hours.

Panel four, on "Building Connections with Ukraine," will include panelists who have succeeded in establishing connections between the U.S. and Ukraine, among them Andrew Masiuk, the former director of the International Management Institute in Kyiv; Andrew Bihun, the senior commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv; Jaroslav Dutkewych, Peace Corps director, Ukraine; and Marta Zielyk, State Department Ukrainian language translator.

As at the past few conferences, Sunday's brunch will feature a cultural presentation. This year, it will be fiddler and mandolinist Peter Ostroushko, widely known from his appearances on the National Public Radio's "Prairie Home Companion" program, and, more recently for his acclaimed CD albums "Heart of the Heartland" and "Pilgrims on the Heart Road," which includes the song "My People," a humorous reflection on his Ukrainian roots.

The conference will conclude with the fifth panel, organized by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation. It will be a case study of a local government project, about how to build an organization that spans Washington and Kyiv, wins and executes multi-million-dollar government grants.

If successful, according to its organizers, the conference should point to ways the Ukrainian American community can stem its numerical decline, improve the services its organizations provide the community, form networks for sharing information, influence the positive development of U.S.-Ukraine relations, win more grants to aid Ukraine and help Ukraine integrate itself within the world community with expanded political, economic, business and cultural ties.

For more information on the conference call Ihor Procinsky, (703) 264-0246 (daytime), or George Masiuk, (703) 960-0043 (evenings).

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