TWG Leadership Conference to study Ukraine's future in global community (10/01/00)

TWG Leadership Conference to study Ukraine's future in global community

by Yaro Bihun

WASHINGTON - The Washington Group's annual Leadership Conference, which will be held here over the Columbus Day weekend, October 6-8, will focus on Ukraine's position and role in the evolving world community.

The three-day conference will be held at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Va., across the Potomac River from the nation's capital.

Its theme, "Ukraine: Integrating into the Global Community," will be explored by experts in various fields, including representatives of the Ukrainian and U.S. governments, and international organizations, in panel discussions dealing with the future of the nation-state and its implications for Ukraine, current developments in Ukraine, and the building of democracy and civil society in Ukraine.

The panelists include: Dr. Roman Solchanyk, Rand Corp.; Dr. Oleh Havrylyshyn, International Monetary Fund; Dr. Anders Aslund, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Prof. George Grabowicz, Harvard University; Dr. Olexander Potiekhin, Embassy of Ukraine; Ambassador William Taylor, coordinator for assistance to the new independent states; Ambassador Nelson C. Ledsky, National Democratic Institute; Judy Van Rest, International Republican Institute; and Orest Deychakiwsky, a staff advisor to the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The conference will open on Friday, October 6, with an evening reception at the Embassy of Ukraine. In addition to the panel discussions, the conference program on Saturday includes a luncheon, which will be attended by U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Ukraine Carlos Pascual, a banquet and dance to the music of Fata Morgana, and a silent auction fund-raiser for the TWG Cultural Fund.

During the banquet, former TWG President Deychakiwsky will be honored for his many years of effort in promoting human rights and democracy in Ukraine.

On Sunday morning the conference will feature a discussion of Ukraine's leading intellectual journal, "Krytyka," with its editor, Prof. Grabowicz, and the launching of the TWG Business Development Forum, organized by the former U.S. commercial attaché in Kyiv, Andrew Bihun. There will also be a Sunday brunch and a performance by the Experimental Bandura Trio.

In selecting the theme of this year's conference, organizers noted that throughout most of its history Ukraine has been isolated from the rest of the world. This has changed with independence: Ukraine is now a meaningful member of the United Nations, of the NATO Partnership for Peace program, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and many other international organizations.

Conference organizers felt that it would be beneficial to look at how well Ukraine is prepared to enter the global community: Is the state of its democracy and a civil society up to the task? Does it have a strategy for navigating these opportunities to join the world community? Is it ready to address another important development, the globalization process, which is challenging the whole notion of the centrality of the nation-state in international relations just as Ukraine is emerging as a nation-state? And how should Ukraine, Ukrainians and Ukrainian Americans assess these issues and react to them? These and related issues will be addressed during the Leadership Conference.

For more information about the conference, please call George Masiuk, (202) 863-7317, or Andy Szul, (703) 824-0041, or send e-mail to [email protected]. The Key Bridge Marriott Hotel is located at 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA. For reservations call 1-800-228-9290 or (703) 524-6400 and ask for The Washington Group's block of rooms. On-line conference registration is available at www.TheWashingtonGroup.org.

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