UCCA executive board discusses upcoming events and projects

by Tamara Gallo
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

NEW YORK - Prior to the summer vacation season, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) executive board met on Saturday, June 8, at its New York headquarters in lower Manhattan to discuss various issues relevant to the community.

The first of the many topics covered during the morning session was the annual commemorative observance of Ukraine's Famine-Genocide. Sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, in conjunction with Bishop Basil Losten of the Stamford Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, this year's commemoration of the 69th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine will be held on Saturday, November 16, at 2 p.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral. In addition to the traditional requiem service (panakhyda), the UCCA proposed the following individuals as main speakers: Gov. George Pataki of New York; John Pontenegro, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and Rabbi David Lincoln, senior rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan (whose participation has already been confirmed).

Having discussed elections in Ukraine many times in the past, UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. expressed his concern that the Ukrainian American community has disregarded the importance of the U.S. elections. This year, the United States will be electing all 435 members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, one-third of all governors, and a host of state and local officials.

To encourage civic involvement, the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) will prepare a Congressional scorecard of member's activities regarding issues of concern to the community; organize "Ukrainian Days" in Washington for the Ukrainian community to visit their members of Congress; and prepare a manual for the UCCA branches to use as a guideline when addressing various topics of interest. The intent of "Ukrainian Days" is to appeal to the young professionals within the Ukrainian community who would find it interesting to conduct discussions with their representatives in Washington and elsewhere.

While on the topic of Washington, the UCCA president expressed appreciation to The Ukrainian Weekly for its continuous, even-handed coverage of the UCCA and UNIS news and events, which is important for the revitalization of the Ukrainian community. Inasmuch as The Ukrainian Weekly has instituted a sponsorship campaign for its "copies for Congress" program the UCCA executive board unanimously agreed to sponsor one issue of The Ukrainian Weekly for Members of Congress. The issue would note that the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America is sponsoring this issue in celebration of the Ukrainian National Information Service's 25th anniversary.

The next issue up for discussion was The Ukrainian Quarterly. After serving almost 10 years as editor-in-chief, Prof. Volodymyr Stojko announced that he would be resigning his position at the end of 2002. As a result, the UCCA executive board formed an ad-hoc search committee to begin exploring prospective candidates for the position of editor-in-chief who would assume his/her responsibilities in 2003.

The UCCA executive board expressed sincere thanks to Prof. Stojko, stating that due to his dedication and professionalism, The Ukrainian Quarterly has not only increased its circulation, but has gained a greater reputation and broader acceptance among scholars. As editor-in-chief he skillfully and thoughtfully compiled articles with a focus on Ukraine's history, literature and modern topics, while issuing special editions of The Ukrainian Quarterly dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Ukraine's 10th anniversary of independence. Additionally, a chronology of events in Ukraine began appearing in each issue during his administration.

The UCCA president also informed the executive board about a decision issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday, June 6, declaring Russia a market economy. As stated by Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, this designation "reflects the tremendous economy changes that Russia has made over the last decade." A decision was reached to begin a letter-writing campaign to members of Congress and the Bush administration, in particular the Department of Commerce, highlighting the economic progress in Ukraine in the past several years, and arguing that market economy status is warranted for Ukraine. As an attachment to the letter, the UCCA will include a copy of an article by Anders Aslund, senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, titled "Why Has Ukraine Returned to Economic Growth?"

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 23, 2002, No. 25, Vol. LXX

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