Ukraine launches anniversary celebrations (08/19/01)

Ukraine launches anniversary celebrations

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Although the dust is still settling and the concrete and asphalt is not quite dry, the first guests are on the way, and so - ready or not Ukraine - let the festivities begin.

After six months of construction, restoration and preparation, on August 18 Ukraine began a series of much anticipated celebrations and commemorations of ten years of independence and statehood, which will culminate on the country's birthday, August 24, with a colorful military parade in Kyiv followed by concerts and a grand fireworks spectacle.

Most of the action will be in Kyiv, the capital city, which has undergone a major facelift in anticipation of the birthday bash (see story below), but other Ukrainian cities will also hold celebrations and parades.

One of the central events of the weeklong commemorations began on August 18, when some 5,000 Ukrainians from all over the world descended on Kyiv to take part in, or at least observe, the proceedings of the Third World Forum of Ukrainians. The enclave of leaders and representatives of Ukrainian political and civic organizations world-wide, which meets irregularly in Kyiv in the days before Ukrainian independence celebrations, is meant to spur debate and consolidate ideas on the aims and direction of the Ukrainian nation here and in the diaspora.

This year the work of the forum will be directed at increasing cooperation with the world community of Ukrainians and the homeland. Vice Prime Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Oleksander Semynozhenko, who is the vice-chairman of the organizing committee, admitted during a press conference on August 15 that relations between the two, which developed quickly in the first years after independence, have cooled considerably and must be reinvigorated.

"Our interaction with the world Ukrainian community was closer in the first years when we were laying the new structure of the Ukrainian state. We will renew that cooperation in a dynamic matter beginning with this forum," said Mr. Semynozhenko.

He said he hopes that the delegates and guests address the issue of globalization and that they consider how the diaspora can gain more access and in turn become more accessible to civic and political organizations located in the villages, towns and regional capitals of Ukraine.

Six hundred delegates, half from Ukraine and half from the major diaspora communities of the world, along with another 600 guests and 100 distinguished persons, will take part in the three-day affair, which will include an opening address by President Leonid Kuchma and a plenary session the first day.

The 300 foreign delegates will also travel to all 25 oblast capitals of Ukraine in groups of up to 30 persons to develop business and political ties with local politicians and business officials.

Before they leave for the regions, however, the entire forum, including delegates and guests, will spend two days addressing a myriad of issues in 15 sections and round tables to be led by experts and scholars in their fields. Chairman of the World Ukrainian Coordinating Council Mykhailo Horyn, who is an assistant chair of the organizing committee, said on August 15 that among the most important topics to be discussed is the development of the Ukrainian language, which he said "has lagged behind the nation-building processes taking place in the last 10 years."

The delegates will also consider how to spur the development of civil society in Ukraine and how the diaspora can contribute more effectively to the building of the Ukrainian state.

Mr. Horyn said that one of the mottos of this year's event is: "Youth, the future of Ukraine," and as such one section would deal with how to bring the Ukrainian youth of the diaspora and the homeland closer.

"I think we need to have many more student exchanges, not 1,000 a year, but 10,000 a year, like other countries do," explained Mr. Horyn.

In the days leading up to the forum some Ukrainians were already actively working on developing closer relations among the youth. On August 16 the Fifth World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations, sponsored by the Ukrainian National Committee of Youth Organizations and the State Committee on Youth and Sports, opened in Kyiv with 450-500 delegates from 25 countries in attendance.

Among the 75 organizations officially represented were such diverse and eclectic groups as the international scouting organization Plast, the Ukrainian Youth Organization SUM, the Sich Ukrainian Children's Society, the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Ukraine and the "Children's Mountaineering Movement."

One of the groups, the Ukrainian Youth Organization SUM, which is firmly established in the U.S., Canada and Europe, but much less so in Ukraine, will take a very active part in the tenth anniversary celebrations with a special gathering of its members here. The gathering, called 'Zlet', opened on August 16 in Lviv, and is the first such event arranged by the organization in Ukraine. Traditionally Zlet had been held during the Summer Olympics at the site of the athletic competitions. Last year, however, the tradition was changed and Zlet was delayed a year to this summer so that its participants could honor a decade of Ukrainian independence.

Some 230 SUM members were expected for the eight-day event, which would take the participants from Lviv through western Ukraine to Kyiv for the August 24 culmination; after several days in Lviv, the group was scheduled to divide into three groups, which would either stay in Lviv, or trek to Ternopil or Kalush for one-day visits to the regions of their forefathers. The group will then reunite outside the Hutsul town of Yaremche in the village of Yamna for a huge ceremonial bonfire before boarding five train cars for the trip to Kyiv on August 20 to be part of the big bash there.

Although the 10th anniversary celebrations began unofficially as far back as mid-summer with several art competitions and theatrical exhibits, the main commemorations officially began with the opening of the World Forum of Ukrainians on Saturday and will continue through the weekend of August 24.

On the second day of the World Forum, the delegates and guests will participate in a commemorative liturgy at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral, one of the architectural and spiritual jewels of Kyiv and Ukraine. The Ukrainian American chorale group, The Bandurist Chorus, will sing responses to the Mass.

The Detroit-based, all-male ensemble of singers and bandura players, which was chosen by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council as the representative Ukrainian American musical group to the World Forum and official 10th anniversary proceedings, will take part in several notable events throughout the week.

They will perform first on August 16 at an afternoon mini-concert at the Teachers Building, which will be sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, before going on stage that evening as part of the gala concert of the World Forum titled "Ukrainian Songs From Around the World," which should be an international showcase of Ukrainian musical talent.

The ensemble will also take part in the "Concert on Khreschatyk" event on August 19 and perform at a private reception at the U.S. Embassy the following day.

Musical concerts and museum openings of the works of noted Ukrainian artists, as well as a large Ukrainian book fair, will be the focal points of the first days of the celebratory week before the main events begin on August 22 with a special session of Ukraine's Parliament and the laying of a commemorative plaque in the square before the building.

The celebrations continue the next day with a prayer service at the St. Sofia Sobor, which is a state museum and not generally used for church services. President Kuchma, the government and legislative leadership are expected to be in attendance, as are scores of diplomats and visiting guests. Immediately following, the group will move to the memorial to St. Volodymyr the Great, the medieval prince of Kyivan Rus' who converted the country to Christianity in 988 and is considered Ukraine's greatest leader, for a short religious ceremony.

Officials will then travel to the newly reconstructed Independence Square in the heart of the city, where the president will unveil the 60-meter tall gilded monument to Ukrainian independence, the centerpiece of the new central plaza.

In the afternoon President Kuchma will host the official ceremony commemorating Ukraine's 10th anniversary of independence at the Palats Ukrainy Concert Hall. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski are expected to be in attendance, as is the entire Ukrainian political, governmental and judicial establishment.

On the big day - August 24 - it will all be for the people, both in Kyiv and in the regional capitals. In Kyiv first will come the grand parade, which will begin with more than 6,000 soldiers representing all the various arms of the Ukrainian military service marching down the Khreschatyk in parade dress. That will be followed by a show of Ukrainian military hardware, which will feature ten of the world's most modern tanks, the Ukrainian T-84.

As the armored columns roll down the city's main thoroughfare, 42 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, as well as Navy helicopters and cargo craft, will buzz above the city in formation. Also on hand will be the Sokil acrobatic team of the Ukrainian Air Force flying MIG-29s.

After the heavy hardware lumbers through, parade watchers will be treated to columns of athletes representing the hundreds of athletic clubs and sports federations in Ukraine and then by a show of Ukrainian artisan groups.

In Lviv the city's military garrison is also scheduled to put on a major performance for Lvivians during their Independence Day parade, which most say will be second only to the Kyiv show. Parades will also be held in Odessa, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv and Sevastopol.

In the country's capital, the daylong events will feature concerts on the Khreschatyk and in parks throughout the city and will culminate in a fireworks display that evening, which Kyiv administration officials are saying will be the largest ever in a city that has been known to put on quite a spectacular light show.

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