EDITORIAL: Pinnacles and foundations (05/02/99)

EDITORIAL

Pinnacles and foundations

A scholar from Ukraine in his mid-40s and a director of one of the institutes at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was heard to have made this reflective comment about his conflicted emotions: "At my age, I expected to be cresting pinnacles. Instead, history has overturned everything and now I find myself laying foundations." This is the situation in which many of our friends, family and colleagues in Ukraine unexpectedly find themselves. The long-awaited pinnacle of Ukrainian independence also meant that a foundation for the future of the new country had to be built.

As immigrants, and children and grandchildren of immigrants, we are well aware that most of us are here because of some major overturn in history. For us, foundation-building was a given. As a result of our families' history, as well as that of our communities, we are also aware of the frustration that results from pinnacles that abruptly could not be crested, the arduous burden of foundations that needed to be laid anew.

Cresting pinnacles and laying foundations are psychologically different processes. Laying a good foundation requires a selfless, often thankless, commitment and a faith in the future. Generations of Ukrainian immigrants gave countless hours and countless dollars to build a foundation in North America from which their children, and their beloved Ukraine, could feel, at some point, the satisfaction of reaching the top.

The upcoming event this June in Washington, the Joint Conferences of Ukrainian American Organizations, is a pinnacle of sorts for our community. The scope of professional achievement, experience and talent to be represented is tremendous. And the fact that those planning to attend do so because remaining Ukrainian or being involved with Ukraine is important to them is a tribute both to the efforts of those individuals, as well as to the generations of foundation-builders that came before them.

However, pinnacles also bring their own challenges. They can be transformed into foundations for new achievements, or simply remain as fleeting moments of satisfaction. At times, it is difficult to know how to sustain the power of achievement. Conference organizers are relying on synergy, the theme of the conference, to help transform this event into a mainstay for our community.

According to our electronic Webster's dictionary, the definition of synergy is "the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects; cooperative interaction among groups ... that creates an enhanced combined effect [from the Greek: sunergia, cooperation; sunergios, working together]."

It is this enhanced cooperation that, over the years, has yielded such institutions as the Ukrainian National Association, tens of dozens of churches and community centers, tens of dozens of community and professional organizations and a network of Ukrainian schools, youth camps and sports camps and dance camps by the dozen, three endowed chairs at Harvard, as well as a Ukrainian Research Institute, and numerous other examples.

Though Ukrainian Americans are tiny in number compared to Italians, Poles, Jews, Chinese, Arabs and other national and ethnic groups, we have a reputation for being fierecely dedicated. Coordinated by volunteer effort, involving more than two dozen organizations and sponsors, this event already in our nation's capital is an example of synergy. We hope that these joint conferences and the accompanying joint program become a habit, and from this pinnacle comes a new foundation for our future.

| Home Page |