Third World Forum of Ukrainians to accent youth (04/08/01)

Third World Forum of Ukrainians to accent youth

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Members of the organizing committee of the Third World Forum of Ukrainians announced on March 23 that this year's mass gathering of the global Ukrainian community scheduled for August 18-24 in Kyiv will place a thematic accent on youth, its problems and perspectives.

"We hope to make this year's forum youth-oriented. We want to place a greater emphasis on the needs and ideas of the younger generation," explained organizing committee member Mykhailo Horyn, head of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council, one of the largest global Ukrainian organizations.

The World Forum of Ukrainians, which is convened irregularly, has convened twice before, first in 1992 under the banner "Our Beautiful Family," and in 1997 utilizing the theme "Into the 21st Century in Cooperation and Unity."

This year organizers are expecting more than 600 delegates and some 1,200 guests to take part. Ivan Drach, head of the Ukraine-World Society (Tovarystvo Ukraina-Svit, formerly known as Tovarystvo Ukraina) and one of the central organizers of the forum, said he hopes that 50 percent of each delegation will be made up of young people.

Mr. Drach outlined a program that will include three major themes: youth - the future of Ukraine; language and culture; and Ukraine and the diaspora. Topics to be addressed include: the battle against drug addiction and AIDS; the way to a healthier life; securing information channels for the activities of the world community of Ukrainians; the development of Ukrainian tourism; and cooperation between Ukraine and the foreign Ukrainian community in the financial and manufacturing spheres.

The general themes and the topics they will address are to be the undercurrent of discussion in various sections and roundtables that are planned for August 19-20, after a gala grand opening and concert on August 18.

Then, on August 21-22, three academic conferences are planned, the first of which will be the second international academic conference on the topic, "Education in the Ukrainian Abroad." Delegates and guests also will be treated to two jubilee conferences, one on the 175th anniversary of the birth of the Ukrainian philosopher and pedagogue Pamfil Yurkevych, the other on the 200th anniversary of the renowned Ukrainian mathematician Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi.

On the agenda as well is the first international conference of the World Association of Ukrainian Press.

During the last two days of the forum, delegates and guests will travel to events and celebrations in various regions of the country and also take part in national celebrations in the capital.

In presenting his vision of how the forum will look, Mr. Drach said he expects the gathering will ask the hard questions on where Ukraine stands as a nation-state today and how the critical events of the last year have affected it.

"This is what the president, the prime minister and the head of the Verkhovna Rada should tell us on the first day," explained Mr. Drach. "Then I would like to hear academics like Ivan Dzyuba, Myroslav Popovych and Roman Szporluk and others tell us what it all means. And after that we can break up into roundtables and sections to discuss what we have seen and been told."

Both Mr. Drach and Mr. Horyn agreed that undoubtedly the political crisis involving Tapegate and the Gongadze affair would be addressed. Mr. Horyn, however, specifically pointed out that this forum should not and would not become a platform from which the crisis would escalate.

"This is a world forum of Ukrainians, not a forum of certain political parties and organizations," explained Mr. Horyn.

In August the emphasis most definitely will be on youth, and Kyiv should be filled with young Ukrainians from around the world if everything proceeds as planned. First, just prior to the opening of the World Forum, on August 16-17, a World Assembly of Ukrainian Youth will occur. Even before that, on August 10-15, in conjunction with the forum, the Ukrainian Youth Association SUM will sponsor a gathering of its members in Brody, located outside of Kyiv. Several groups affiliated with the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization also are organizing several special trips to Ukraine, and members of the Plast from abroad and their Ukrainian counterparts are to meet in Kyiv.

Also in keeping with the youth theme, a festival of children's creativity will take place at the Artek Children's Center in Kyiv at the beginning of August, which will feature the creative works of Ukrainian children from all corners of the globe.

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