Ps & Bs conference to discuss future of Ukrainian diaspora (08/09/98)

Ps & Bs conference to discuss future of Ukrainian diaspora

NEW YORK - The Professionals and Businesspersons Association of New York and New Jersey is organizing a two-day conference on October 10-11, devoted to a discussion and analysis of the future of the diaspora. The conference - titled "The Year 2020 Conference: Will There Be a North American Ukrainian Diaspora in the Year 2020, and Does It Matter?" - will be held at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in East Hanover, N.J.

Some of the many issues to be explored at the conference by speakers such as Myron Kuropas, Roman Szporluk and Bohdan Vitvitsky include:

Does an independent Ukraine enrich and invigorate the diaspora, or undermine its reason for being?
What institutional infrastructure, if any, is necessary for the diaspora to survive and thrive?
What conditions and which elements are necessary for the continued viability of the diaspora: language, culture, churches and schools, fraternals, credit unions, voluntary associations? Is a commitment to or interest in Ukraine's survival necessary or is it enough to have an interest in things Ukrainian? What means of communication (newspapers, television shows, the Internet) are necessary among those who want to sustain the diaspora? Are all of the above necessary, or are different combinations appropriate to conditions in different communities?

The Saturday evening conference banquet will feature an address by Dr. Yuri Shcherbak, a writer and a physician and currently Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. The musical program includes recording artists Paris to Kyiv, featuring Alexis Kochan and Julian Kytasty.

In addition, the conference will hold panels devoted to the views and perspectives on the diaspora's future from the younger generation and the mid-life generation; a panel on developments in Canada and the relationship between the American and Canadian diasporas; and a panel on the role of the "Fourth Wave" (those who have immigrated from Ukraine in the last 10 years) in helping to determine the future of the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. and Canada.

Panelists and moderators include: Vera Andrushkiw (Michigan), Ihor Bardyn (Ontario), Vitaly Chernetsky (New York), the Rev. Andriy Chirovsky (Ontario), Mark Kapij (Massachusetts), Ms. Kochan (Manitoba), Zenon Kohut (Edmonton), Stefko Kuropas (Illinois), Oleh Mahlay (Ohio), Askold Melnyczuk (Massachusetts), Alexander Motyl (New York), Serhiy Myroniuk (New Jersey), Kateryna Nemyra (Ohio), Peter Paluch (New Jersey), Xenia Piaseckij (New York), Petro Rybchuk (New Jersey), Victor Satzewich (Ontario), George Sawicki (New York), Michael Stashchyshyn (New Jersey), Oksana Stojko (New Jersey) and Taras Szmagala Jr. (Ohio).

Those who wish to attend the conference must pre-register and pay the conference fee by no later than September 29. On-site registration, at which tickets and conference programs will be distributed, will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 10. The conference will begin at 9 a.m. The Sunday program will begin with a brunch at 10:30 a.m. In order to pre-register, fax a request for a registration form along with your name and address to: (609) 683-3628 or write to: UAPBA-N.Y. and N.J., P.O. Box 1054, New York, NY 10013.

The Ramada Inn, the site of the conference, has set aside rooms for conference participants at $60 per room. This block of rooms will be held until September 26. Make reservations directly with the Ramada Inn and Conference Center, 130 Route 10 W., East Hanover, NJ 07936; tel., (973) 386-5622. The Ramada will provide shuttle service from Newark Airport upon request, as well as transportation to Sunday liturgy at St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Whippany.