EDITORIAL

Synergy: make it work for us

It's just days before the first Joint Conference of Ukrainian American Organizations convenes in Washington, bringing together diverse and active segments of our community in this country at a gathering the likes of which has never before been seen.

Lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, women's activists, librarians, credit union leaders and the myriad professionals who belong to our Ps and Bs groups will hold their respective conferences. One of the most notable among them is The Washington Group, which this year holds its Leadership Conference (traditionally held in October) during the Joint Conferences.

The mega-conference will also attract members of organizations and institutions well-known in our community, such as fraternal organizations, veterans groups and Ukrainian American umbrella organizations, as well as representatives of sponsoring organizations, including financial institutions and Ukrainian American media.

The event promises to be a rendezvous of truly historic import - and proportion.

As of one week before its assembly, more than 700 persons were registered to take part in one or more of the Joint Conferences' sessions and events. And, all indications are that there will be even more participants arriving in Washington for what many are calling "Ukrainian Events Week."

According to conference organizer Dr. Roman Goy, "This has been a success beyond anyone's wildest imagination, so much so that the evening receptions at the State Department, the Congress and the Embassy of Ukraine are already filled to capacity, and even the meeting rooms are nearing capacity."

But the significance of the meeting is not based on numbers alone.

As Dr. Goy put it, "There are two things that we lack in this community: enough cooperation with one other and enough influence on political processes in this country. The very fact that we have been able to get so many organizations and so many people together for this conference and can have such a significant presence in Washington is proof of what we can do. In a sense, this, in and of itself, is a success."

The level of cooperation among disparate segments of our community preparing this conference is extraordinary, and such collaboration manifests a yearning and a need for contact among our organizations and among individuals. It also demonstrates that, with a little bit of motivation, we can marshal our forces, we can work together for the good of the whole community.

With the Joint Conferences providing a venue - indeed an opportunity - there is one unanswered question: How many leaders of our Ukrainian community establishment will attend?

The theme of the Joint Conferences of Ukrainian American Organizations is synergy. Its goal: to make that synergy work for the community as a whole. All of our community's leaders have an occasion to confer during the Joint Conferences' sessions on Sunday, June 27, when the program will be devoted to topics like the financial strength, political empowerment and direction of our organizations. We hope all will take advantage of this confluence of people to attend and to talk - with each other and with the members of the community they both lead and serve.

Ultimately, our greatest hope is that this interchange has tangible results: that it enables our community to make a successful transition into the future.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 20, 1999, No. 25, Vol. LXVII

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