EDITORIAL: Terms of engagement (03/31/02)

EDITORIAL

Terms of engagement

Picking up where we left off last week with our editorial titled "Vital signs at a summit," this week we expand on our comments on what transpired at the first Summit of Ukrainian American Organizations held to explore the topic of engaging the younger generation. This unique gathering was successful, first and foremost, because of the open-mindedness and flexibility of conference organizers and participants alike. All had an opportunity to engage in a dialogue, and most were emboldened to speak by the overwhelmingly collegial atmosphere. The principal result was new contacts and an obvious willingness to continue the communication begun at this informal, yet very significant, conference and to transform it into effective interaction.

Many summit participants learned new information concerning organizations about which they thought they knew all they needed to know. Several of the speakers mentioned that what the younger generations need is to learn what our community has to offer in the way of organizational activity. Indeed, the Ukrainian National Association's treasurer, for example, pointed out that many of the younger set do not even know they are UNA members since they were enrolled by parents or grandparents, yet never informed about the organization and its beneficial work. During one panel spokespersons were asked to comment on the most prevalent misconceptions regarding their organizations; the answers and comments of the audience revealed as much about our individual/community biases as about our organizations.

Clearly, even well-established organizations need to reconsider how they "market" themselves (if they do at all...). Plus, our schools and organizations could do better in educating our kids about the value of our community life and the incredible achievements of our diaspora. For example, we know of a least one school of Ukrainian studies that has created a pilot project that addresses these topics, in addition to other themes that are beyond the scope of the traditional curriculum of our Saturday schools yet very beneficial for our high-school-age students.

Conferees also discussed the best methods to attract new members: one-to-one contact between members and prospective members, and contacts via "non-threatening," non-stressful social gatherings open to interested persons. Also noted was the importance of quality, which one young professional emphasized is key to getting people interested and/or involved in an organization. "Our offerings must be on par or better than others'," he stated. And, yes, a student leader also mentioned the age-old method of setting an example: when parents are active in our community and demonstrate that they see value in its existence, it's likely that their children also will be involved.

The youngest participants of the summit, university students and recent grads who are now young professionals, underlined, again and again, the potential value of mentoring and internships for students. (Several, we must note with pride, mentioned working at The Weekly as summer or student interns as a very positive and much-appreciated experience - to which we add that such opportunities are mutually enriching.) The students also said very matter-of-factly: maybe we haven't become involved because we haven't been approached; come speak to us, encourage us to become involved, use us as a resource!

The professionals' groups represented at the summit took notes and made contacts. And whether it was the medical association, the engineers' society, or the Ps & Bs (professionals/businesspersons), all agreed that outreach to student groups (including making activities more financially accessible) would now be on their agendas in addition to their networking for those already in the professional world.

The summit also broached the question of how we could better structure our community for maximum benefit to all and challenged community activists to take a good look at why and how they do what they do. The matter of effective communications also was noted as a key to our community's well-being, as was such synergistic activity as co-sponsorship of events and projects.

It was Andrew Masiuk of Washington who made perhaps the most salient observation about the conference goings-on: it seems ours is a virtual community, that what we have is a collection of organizations looking for a community.

The truth is that our community is what we make it. It's up to all of us to translate the energy of the first Summit of Ukrainian American Organizations into a new foundation for a revitalized community. We can make it happen.

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