2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Ukrainians in the U.S.: active on many fronts

Ukrainians in America this past year were active on many fronts. Among the different diaspora groups making news this year, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Ukrainian National Information Service with a benefit banquet at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago on May 1.

Two of America's largest Ukrainian financial institutions, 1st Security Federal Savings Bank and Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union joined forces to co-sponsor the banquet, which launched a yearlong celebration and fund-raising effort to support the Washington-based UNIS office.

According to Julian E. Kulas, president of 1st Security, who served as the master of ceremonies for the banquet, UNIS provides timely information about Ukraine to the media and academia through policy papers and backgrounders, and produces newsletters and action items to inform and rally the community's support on important issues.

The banquet included speeches by Steven Pifer, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine (1998-2000) and currently the assistant secretary for the European Bureau at the State Department, specializing in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moldovan and Russian affairs; as well as remarks by Michael Sawkiw Jr., UCCA president and UNIS director.

Key issues reviewed by the UNIS director included: U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine and its necessity to continue reforms in the economic and political spheres; the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, which maintains bilateral relations with the Ukrainian Parliament; Permanent Normal Trade Relations for Ukraine, as UNIS is actively pursuing a bill in Congress that would eliminate the Jackson-Vanik Amendment for Ukraine; the Ukrainian American Veterans' federal charter; and a Ukrainian leadership program that would bring young talented parliamentarians, regional leaders and political party workers to the United States to experience first-hand how civic society interacts with various forms of American government

Later in the year Ukrainian and U.S. politicians and diplomats, as well as a smattering of journalists from Ukraine, continued to mark UNIS's milestone 25th anniversary with a jubilee celebration in Washington. The jubilee party, held at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center on October 8, was held in conjunction with an international conference organized by UCCA and included State Secretary for European Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleksander Chalii, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, along with former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk and former Ambassador to the U.S. Oleh Bilorus, both of whom today are national deputies in Kyiv. U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Danny Davis of Illinois both praised the office for giving voice to the demands and desires of the Ukrainian community.

"UNIS has not only been the voice of the Ukrainian community, it has been the voice of justice and freedom," said Askold Lozynskyj, the president of the Ukrainian World Congress and a former longtime president of the UCCA, during the celebration.

Mr. Kulas, who later that evening received the Friend of UNIS Award for 25 years of dedicated financial support, in his introductory remarks listed UNIS's most recent successes, which included providing stimulus for the formation of the Ukrainian caucus in the U.S. Congress; taking part in a successful lobbying effort to have the first visit to Washington by President Leonid Kuchma upgraded from a working visit to a state visit; and lobbying the U.S. Congress on maintaining a certain level of foreign aid for Ukraine.

Mr. Sawkiw acknowledged several individuals who played key roles in keeping the fledgling information service on its feet during the first few years of its existence, including Bohdan Denysyk, George Nesterczuk, Andrij Bilyk, Vitaliy Garber, Eugene Iwanciw and George Woloshyn, and presented the six individuals with UNIS Co-Founder Awards.

Mr. Sawkiw also announced that the Selfreliance (New York) Federal Credit Union had donated $15,000 in commemoration of the UNIS jubilee, while the Self Reliance (New Jersey) Federal Credit Union had pledged $7,500.

With the help of two donations totaling $45,000 the UCCA also moved forward on a decision made during a regular board meeting on December 16, 2001, to create a bureau in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The benefactors, responding to a UCCA appeal, included Arkadi Mulak-Yatzkivsky of Los Angeles, who donated $20,000, and an anonymous donor who contributed $25,000. These donations covered the operating costs for the newly opened Kyiv Office, which is staffed by a citizen of Ukraine, for at least a two-year period, the UCCA announced on March 10.

The UCCA also announced that the Kyiv Office's immediate responsibility would be to carry out "The Power of One" civic education program, which had as its goal to promote greater citizen involvement in civic decision-making by encouraging voter participation in the March 2002 parliamentary elections, and to educate the people about their inalienable rights as citizens of a democratic country. Following the elections, the bureau, located at Myzeinyi Provulok No. 8, would function similarly to the UNIS office in Washington by monitoring and disseminating information and by serving as the UCCA's voice in Kyiv. Additionally, the Kyiv office would assist the UCCA's Council on Aid to Ukrainians, which conducts humanitarian aid projects.

The new UCCA Kyiv Office then grabbed a headline by hosting an informational seminar for their parliamentary election monitors at the Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Ukraine on March 29. According to the Central Election Commission, the UCCA's 46-member delegation was the largest non-governmental organization and the fourth largest team overall registered to monitor Ukraine's March parliamentary elections. The seminar, which was divided into two sections, was dedicated to acquainting the election monitors with the various political parties and blocs vying for seats in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada and providing practical information on how best to serve as international election monitors.

The UCCA invited all 33 registered political parties and blocs in Ukraine to the briefing and asked them to outline their respective political platforms and to provide insight on the pre-election atmosphere. The seminar attracted leaders of parties and blocs from across the political spectrum including: the Party of Greens, Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Reformed Communist Party, Socialist Party, Our Ukraine, Yabluko, Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party of Ukraine-United, ZUBR (For Ukraine, Belarus and Russia), For a United Ukraine, All-Ukrainian Christian Party and the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists.

The second half of the seminar concentrated on providing practical information about how best to serve as international election observers. During this portion of the briefing, UCCA election monitors were able to obtain first-hand knowledge and recommendations from several local non-governmental organizations that have experience in monitoring Ukraine's elections. Ultimately, the UCCA monitors observed the elections in various oblasts of Ukraine, including, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Luhansk and Lviv. Additionally, several UCCA international election observers monitored elections in the United States at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, and at the New York and Chicago Consulates.

Aided in part by a $500 grant from the One City Awards Program, announced on February 7, the UCCA also opened an information center for the newest Ukrainian immigrants in New York City on May 11. The grant was given in support of civic education courses, which would be held in the newly remodeled Fourth Wave Information Center, located in the UCCA's headquarters in New York City. The idea for the Information Center came from an action plan developed by the UCCA's Fourth Wave Committee and presented during the organization's first executive board meeting of 2002.

Clergy from the Ukrainian Catholic Church, members of the UCCA executive and national boards, representatives from various Ukrainian organizations and financial institutions, as well as many of Ukraine's newest immigrants gathered at the entrance of the UCCA's building in lower Manhattan to dedicate the UCCA Information Center for New Immigrants on May 11. As in traditional Ukrainian ceremonies, members of the ensemble Ukrainian Family, under the direction of Oksana Lykhovyd, welcomed the public to the new premises with bread and salt, followed by the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem.

UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. introduced Ms. Lykhovyd, director of the UCCA's Information Center for New Immigrants, who described the opening of the center as a truly "historic and timely event for Ukrainians in the United States," as it gives new immigrants the means to use the services available at the center such as English-as-a-Second Language (ESL), computer training, and even citizenship courses. "This will help the new immigrants integrate themselves into American society and be a part of the greater Ukrainian community," Ms. Lykhovyd added.

Members of UCCA's Fourth Wave Committee added that the center would be used to provide valuable resources and information for the newest Ukrainian arrivals to the United States, such as computer training, courses for citizenship, and legal and medical advice, as well as a job training and apartment databank.

UCCA President Sawkiw on May 9 also submitted testimony to the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee regarding foreign assistance to Ukraine for Fiscal Year 2003. Mr. Sawkiw's testimony before Congress included statements on the importance of U.S. funding to Ukraine, although it comprises only 1 percent of the total U.S. federal budget. "U.S. foreign assistance is critical to promoting expansion of democracy and building lasting peace throughout the world," Mr. Sawkiw said.

Construction of a long-anticipated new home for The Ukrainian Museum in New York City officially began in early February 2002 with scaffolding surrounding the existing structure located at 222 E. Sixth St., between Second and Third avenues in the East Village section of Manhattan. Architects of the new building said it would have 75 square feet of frontage and offer 25,000 square feet of space and would be constructed at a cost of $7.6 million. The Ukrainian Museum, which has been in operation at its present location, 203 Second Ave., for 25 years, has been conducting a capital fund-raising campaign for more than a decade in support of this project.

On Sunday, December 8, The Ukrainian Museum celebrated the completed construction of the building's steel frame with a "topping out" ceremony; the placing of the final and highest beam, which links the infrastructure of a new building. The ceremony is marked by crowning the structure with a tree, a branch or flowers - an act that represents the attainment of an important milestone in the building process.

Other singular rites and customs of the topping out ceremony were observed during the event. The superintendent on the construction site, Bob Mankowski from DiGiacomo & Son, received a Ukrainian embroidered handkerchief instead of the traditional silk one. A "palanytsia," a flat bread, was also shared with the participants during the event to express a traditional thank you to all who helped in the endeavor. In order to chase away any evil spirits that may inhabit the new structure, the museum placed an evergreen tree, imbued with spirits with kindly dispositions, on the steel beam. The tree was destined to remain on the beam atop the infrastructure until the roof would cap the building.

Olha Hnateyko, president of The Ukrainian Museum's board of trustees, flanked by members of the board, past and present, as well as the museum staff, recalled the $500,000 donation from Self Reliance (New York) Federal Credit Union and the princely gift of $2.5 million, plus an additional challenge grant of $1 million, from entrepreneur Eugene Shklar and his wife, Daymel.

The Ukrainian Museum also gained the support of Ambassador Valeriy Kuchinsky, permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, and Serhiy Pohoreltzev, the consul general of Ukraine in New York City, who both offered to help the museum's future projects that promote involvement with museums and the arts community in Ukraine. The suggestions of cooperation were made during a special visit to the museum in late February 2002 by the ambassador and the consul general, as well as the Mission's Second Secretary Danylo Lubkivsky.

Speaking to an attentive audience, Ambassador Kuchinsky said it is important for the Ukrainian diplomats posted in New York City to develop a working relationship with the museum. For example, he said they can be instrumental in facilitating the loan process for exhibitions from museums in Ukraine and assist, through The Ukrainian Museum, with helping young artists from Ukraine to explore and take advantage of career-building opportunities in the United States.

The ambassador emphasized that the Ukrainian diplomats will treat cooperative projects with the museum as matters of great importance. "Our meeting today reflects not only our concern. It is a testimony of our readiness to help the museum staff in any way possible," he said. "For each Ukrainian heart there can be no choice whether to support or not to support the museum, for it is through this sanctuary of Ukrainian presence in the United States that our nation speaks to the world."

In July came word that the Manhattan Borough President's Office had awarded the museum $125,000 in capital funds to support its new building project. The award was announced in a letter from Borough President C. Virginia Fields. The museum also received a $12,000 grant during 2002 from the New York State Council on the Arts for the planning of an inaugural exhibit planned for the new building's opening in the summer of 2003.

Over in New Jersey Ukrainians came out for a historic flag-raising ceremony at the governor's mansion, Drumthwacket, in Princeton, N.J., to celebrate the 11th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. Officials at Gov. James E. McGreevey's office counted approximately 1,300 guests at the event and said the attendance made a significant impact on the governor's awareness of the Ukrainian community in New Jersey.

During the program the governor noted Ukraine's long struggle for freedom and self-determination, and commended its citizens and the diaspora for upholding that fight for so many years. "We must remember to support a free and independent Ukraine," the governor said. "The battle for Ukrainian independence will not end on this anniversary celebration or any future anniversary celebration. That battle will always be there."

Ukrainians of New York City continued their opposition to the Large Scale Development Plan proposed by The Cooper Union to expand buildings which the school owns in the East Village. Ukrainian residents, many of whom have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, argue that much of the school's plan, centered on increasing the retail and commercial space in order to ease the school's financial burden, would create a corporate environment that would push longtime residents out of the area.

The New York City Planning Commission approved the controversial development plan on September 3. The plan the city passed would replace a six-story engineering building, located at 51 Astor Place, with a 212-foot office tower. It would also raise the Hewitt Building - the largest bone of contention with the Ukrainian community in the school's plan - from its current two-story level to a nine-story academic building with retail planed for the bottom floor.

Ukrainian residents in the East Village argued that enlarging the Hewitt Building, which sits between Sixth and Seventh streets on Taras Shevchenko Place, would adversely affect St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church - located opposite the Hewitt Building, also on Taras Shevchenko Place. In an effort to halt the development process, a lawsuit was filed on July 24 with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan by four individuals from the community against the City's Planning Commission and Cooper Union. The plaintiffs charged the city and college with violating land-use procedures and contend that the school does not own all of the properties on which it plans to develop and that significant amenities for the community have not been included in the plan.

The newly renamed Mountain View Resort Verkhovyna also made news in 2002. Since the resort was sold by the Ukrainian Fraternal Association in early June 2001 questions arose regarding how funds donated to the Ukrainian American Cultural Foundation - the organization that now controls the resort - have been used. There were questions, too, about organizational details of the UACF. These and other questions have quietly surfaced within the Ukrainian American community and, to date, remain unanswered.

In response to those concerns, The Ukrainian Weekly spent over a year working to clarify the many questions surrounding Verkhovyna and the issue of how the UACF board is constituted. After The Weekly's attempts to provide space for both sides of the UACF dispute to tell their stories were unsuccessful, The Weekly decided to publish what was known.

Additionally, members of the UACF's current board of directors were hit with a lawsuit, not yet resolved, that challenges the authority of board members. The lawsuit, according to one of the plaintiffs, lists four individuals who contend that members of the current UACF board initiated a clandestine takeover of the UACF in contravention of the foundation's by-laws.

Current members of the UACF board of directors, including its chief executive officer, Stephen Kapczak, said, however, that the board members were elected according to the rules of the organization. According to the organization, the UACF is officially managed by its board of directors, which meets annually to elect board members and officers of the foundation and continually asserts that it is a public organization.

Mr. Kapczak said the lawsuit is nothing more than a group of individuals - some who left the UACF when the resort's future looked uncertain - now trying to get back in.

Questions regarding donations made to the UACF in 2001 and 2002 also arose and, to date, the UACF has not made those records public. Current executives of the foundation say that a detailed breakdown of donations will be made public by the beginning of 2003.

Mr. Kapczak said the foundation has spent $304,000 to rebuild the resort's guest house, bring all past violations to code and upgrade facilities. He said the UACF has resumed hosting summer camps and the largely successful annual Ukrainian Festival, adding that the foundation is actively interested in attracting new business.

According to the UACF website, the Ukrainian American Cultural Foundation is a charitable not-for-profit foundation and is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(A) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described under section 501(c)(3).

Current UACF officers include: Mr. Kapczak, CEO; Iwan Nazarkewycz, president; Oleh Kolodiy, vice-president of activities; Oleh Dekajlo, legal counsel; Walter Klokiw, auditor; Christine Smetaniuk, treasurer; Zenon Holubec, community liaison; Andrew Rakowsky, vice-president of activities; Wasyl Kinach, technical support; and Jerry Sus, technical support. The UACF board of directors includes: Mr. Kapczak, Mr. Nazarkewycz, Mr. Kolodiy, Mr. Dekajlo, Sonya Blanarovich, Mr. Holubec, Olena Kolodiy and Alison Kapczak.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed against current board members of the UACF include Anton Filimonchuk and his wife, Father Nestor Kowal and Stephan Palylyk.

The Ukrainian American Veterans got some help in their efforts to get a national charter for their organization when, on July 8 Reps. David Bonior (D-Mich.) and Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to fellow members of Congress asking for support of a bill to grant a federal charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans.

The letter read in part: "This act is an important step to recognize the American veterans of foreign wars of Ukrainian descent. Like many other servicemen, they have sworn allegiance to the United States of America and risked and sacrificed their lives to protect the strategic interests and democratic values of the United States all over the world. With their roots in a country that was suffering under the yoke of communism for most of the last century, Ukrainian American veterans knew the real value of democracy and the free market, and bravely protected and advanced them in all conflicts along with American soldiers of other ethnic backgrounds."

"In the past, the United States Congress has granted federal charters to Italian American, Jewish American, Polish American, as well as other ethnic veterans' organizations. The Ukrainian American Veterans Inc. deserves the same recognition. I urge you to sign onto H.R. 818 and support its passing," the letter concluded.

The UAV, meeting in Independence, Ohio, on September 12-15 for its 55th national convention. The convention focused on the ongoing UAV Registration Project that would document the contributions of Ukrainian Americans to America's military history. Another concern of the convention, at which Mathew Koziak was elected national commander, was the Veterans History Project initiated by the United States Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center where the UAV is an official sponsor. The mission of the Veterans History Project, which was inaugurated on June 6 aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid, is to collect the memories, accounts and documents of veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, and to preserve these stories of experience and service for future generations.

Ukrainians in the United States also held a summit that looked at the topic of youth involvement in Ukrainian American organizations. Held on March 15-17 at the Ukrainian National Association's Soyuzivka resort, the inaugural Summit of Ukrainian American Organizations was an informal discussion that attracted over 60 leading diaspora representatives and activists. The summit concluded without a new initiative or distinct solution regarding the topic of engaging today's "youth" but seemed to stimulate many ideas and much candid discussion. Andrij Wowk, national president of the Ukrainian Engineers' Society of America (UESA) and event co-organizer, called it "completely satisfying" and said the event "should be repeated in other major diaspora hotbeds such as Detroit and Cleveland."

The executive committee of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, the other umbrella organization of Ukrainians in the U.S., at its quarterly meeting on February 16, reaffirmed its recognition of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council in Kyiv as the main non-governmental organization representing Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad and established a separate fund in support of the UWCC. The UACC executive committee voted to send $1,500 to the UWCC as its initial contribution to the fund. The executive committee also approved other donations totaling $1,550 for various educational and charitable organizations in Ukraine and a $300 contribution for the Ukrainian teachers' committee responsible for developing Ukrainian language tests for secondary school students in the state of New York.

The Palatine, Ill., branch of the Ukrainian American Youth Association received a $100,000 state grant on February 23 during a social evening at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Palatine. The money came from the Illinois First Member Initiative Fund, an initiative by Gov. George Ryan which puts funds into the hands of legislators to disburse to worthy causes in their communities as they see fit. Illinois State Sens. Walter Dudycz and Wendell Jones each sponsored $50,000 to go to the building fund of the Cultural Center.

The Ukrainian National Women's League of America (UNWLA) completed celebrations of its 75th anniversary during its 26th convention on May 24-27 at the Hyatt Hotel in Sarasota, Fla. The diamond jubilee, whose celebrations began in 2000, culminated with a special program at the convention during which each former president of the respected women's organization was honored for her achievements and work.

During the banquet that evening, Honorary President Anna Krawczuk officially recognized the new national board, headed by Iryna Kurowyckyj, who was re-elected to a second term as president, and administered the oath of office. She also led the assemby in toasting the 75th anniversary of the UNWLA and the 26th UNWLA Convention. Congratulatory letters from dignitaries across the country and around the world were read, including letters from President Leonid Kuchma, President George W. Bush, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Cardinal Lubomyr Husar and Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate. A congratulatory statement from the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations was personally delivered by President Oksana Sokolyk and Svitlana Kocherha, representing Soyuz Ukrainok of Ukraine, read a warm message from Ukraine's former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko.

On September 27-29 Ukrainian American Bar Association members gathered at the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square Hotel in Philadelphia to celebrate the UABA's 25th anniversary to participate in a professional conference and to honor a select group of individuals for their special achievements.

During the UABA's gala banquet on Saturday evening, Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado was presented with the UABA's first Rule of Law Award in recognition of his outstanding work in supporting an independent Ukraine. Bohdan Futey, a federally appointed judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims received the UABA's second Rule of Law Award.

Awards were also presented to attorneys who, according to the UABA, have changed in a significant way the lives of Ukrainian Americans burdened by labels rooted in Soviet propaganda and in the turbulent struggles of World War II. Thus, Arthur Belendiuk, Bohdanna Pochoday-Stelmach and Askold S. Lozynskyj received the Litigation Award for their work in winning a court action against CBS for a 1994 broadcast called "The Ugly Face of Freedom."

The UABA was in the news in 2002 also after the organization filed an amicus curiae brief to challenge a U.S. immigration court's characterization of the Popular Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) as an anti-Semitic, persecutory organization. The author of the brief, which was filed on April 22, was Andre Michniak, president of the UABA, who explained that the UABA became involved because the decision characterizing Rukh as an anti-Semitic organization is considered legal precedent. As it stands today, a court or the INS can deny not only asylum but also residence in the United States to applicants based solely on membership in Rukh.

The UABA's "friend of the court brief" has provided accurate information on Rukh to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which might be utilized in future decisions. Mr. Michniak said the UABA also hopes to limit what it considers an inaccurate characterization of Rukh to the facts of the case in which the characterization was originally made. If the BIA agrees with the UABA, the characterization of Rukh as anti-Semitic might become limited to a certain time and place, and to specific events; it would not be applicable to every member of Rukh. In other words, even if some Rukh members might have used the organization for isolated anti-Semitic actions, the organization itself would be considered neither anti-Semitic nor persecutory. As a result, in order to deny asylum to members of Rukh on the basis of participation in the commission of persecutory acts, INS attorneys would need to show that the person applying for asylum actually participated in persecutory acts rather than relying simply on the applicant's membership in Rukh.

The New York Metro Chapter of the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America held the first of a planned series of discussions, "How to enter the medical mainstream: Ukraine to U.S. - the success stories," with newly arrived Ukrainian physicians on May 11 at the Selfreliance Association building in Manhattan.

NY Metro officers, led by President Dr. Alexandra Kushnir, hosted a gathering of enthusiastic and inquisitive health care professionals from Ukraine seeking to learn about the process of accrediting their skills for acceptance and use in the United States. The panelists explained what channels are open to newly arrived health care specialists, how to prepare for the inevitable series of examinations, as well as various job options within the medical professions.

The four-hour discussion was the first of a series of meetings representing a new initiative spearheaded by the New York Metro Chapter to make UMANA an association more relevant to its members, and more sensitive to the needs and concerns of Ukrainian-born colleagues.

In other news, Ukrainian Fraternal Association held its 25th Convention at the Clarion Hotel on June 17-20, electing a new president, Jaroslaw Gawur, a former manager of the Verkhovyna resort once owned by the UFA and a former UFA auditor. The convention proceedings were opened by the outgoing president, John Oleksyn. In attendance were 59 delegates and members of the UFA Supreme Council.

Mr. Oleksyn, 80, was feted at a retirement luncheon at the Radisson Hotel in Scranton. He was recognized for nearly 30 years of service to the organization and was named an honorary member of the UFA Supreme Council.

The Ukrainian Music Institute of America - the largest music school in the Ukrainian diaspora - assembled students, alumni, teachers and friends at Carnegie Hall's stately Weill Recital Hall on October 27 for a concert celebrating the organization's 50th anniversary.

Ukrainians also commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Famine-Genocide with the fourth annual ecumenical requiem service held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on November 16. Prior to the requiem service a bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress to erect a memorial in Washington to the victims of the Famine.

At the initiative of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, was approached with the idea of constructing the monument. The Famine Memorial Bill, H.R. 5289, provides for a parcel of land in Washington for the construction of a memorial, which would be dedicated in 2008 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Famine.

The bill recognizes the horrific nature of the man-made famine in Ukraine, stating it was "not brought about by natural causes such as pestilence, drought, floods, or poor harvest, but as a consequence of a premeditated policy on the part of the Soviet government led by Joseph Stalin to crush the nationally conscious Ukrainian people and destroy their national, political, cultural and religious rights." The bill has been referred to the Resources Committee of the House of Representatives, specifically to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. As of August 6 the Famine Memorial Bill had 40 co-sponsors.

Some 3,500 Ukrainians, as well as Cardinal and Major Archbishop Lubomyr Husar, primate of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, and other Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox Church hierarchs gathered for the ecumenical requiem service offered for the victims of the Great Famine at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

During 2002, updated data on the total number of Ukrainians in the United States were released in 2002. The 2000 Census supplementary survey showed that the estimated 862,416 Ukrainians living in the U.S. was not a completely accurate number and could be characterized as an underestimate. Updated 2000 census data on ancestry showed the real number closer to 893,055 Ukrainians living in the United States, reported Dr. Oleh Wolowyna.

The census gave detailed information on variables such as: first and second ancestry, age, sex, marital status, place of birth, year of immigration (for immigrants), citizenship status, education, school attendance and type of school, occupation, income of individuals and families, relationship to the head of the household, etc. The census also revealed detailed information about housing characteristics: rent/own status, numbers of rooms and bedrooms, year of structure, mortgage payment, rent, value of house, as well as information on the number of Ukrainians living in a given state and migration patterns within the United States.

Ukrainians in the U.S. also hosted a major conference that brought experts from the United States, Ukraine, the European Union and NATO together in Washington on October 8-9 to evaluate Ukraine's prospects for eventual integration into the structures of the EuroAtlantic community. Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood - Roundtable III: "Ukraine and the EuroAtlantic Community" took into account Ukraine's efforts to move matters from theory to practice, by exploring four major areas of discussion. The conference's topics assessed: the progress of Ukraine's transition to EuroAtlantic structures, the state of European Union-Ukraine relations, the state of U.S.-Ukraine relations and the state of NATO-Ukraine relations. The conference featured 12 panels and two working luncheons, as well as keynote addresses by Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York.

The Ukrainian Institute of America presented its Man of the Year 2002 Award to Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko of Kyiv at a gala dinner in New York City's Plaza Hotel on December 9. Walter Nazarewicz, president of the UIA, presented the award to Mr. Omelchenko and cited the mayor as the "primary mover of the renaissance of Kyiv."

Mr. Omelchenko also appeared at a press conference with world heavyweight boxing superstars Vitalii and Volodymyr Klitschko at UIA headquarters on 2 E. 79th St., where he was awarded the honorary title of New York State boxing commissioner by Jerome M. Becker, commissioner of the New York State Athletic Commission.

Mr. Omelchenko's two-day trip to New York included a meeting with students and faculty at Columbia University's Harriman Institute; a trip to Ground Zero, the site of the collapsed World Trade Center, where he placed a wreath in commemoration of the terror attacks of 9/11; a private interview with an editor from Business Week magazine; as well as a visit to St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church and School in New York's East Village.

The UIA announced plans to commemorate 2003 with a series of yearlong programs that are intended to show "the changes and the beauty of the 'new' Kyiv," a UIA press release said. Mr. Omelchenko opened the first of those programs during his trip to New York on December 10. Included in the exhibit were over 70 images of present-day Kyiv, video presentations and other information on the city's history, as well as statistics on developments in education, commerce, infrastructure, housing, religion and advertising. According to the chair of the exhibit committee, Ulana Baczynskyj, the Year of the Renaissance of Kyiv program tries to capture the changes taking place in Kyiv and "conveys it in the form of a multimedia experience and brings you momentary immersion into Kyiv city life." The exhibit committee also added that additional programs would follow at two-month intervals and are planned to focus on architecture, art, music and fashion designers of Kyiv.

In conjunction with the UIA's Renaissance of Kyiv program The Weekly ran a six-week series of articles titled "Renaissance of Kyiv." The topics included religion, culture, fashion, economics, as well as features on world champion boxers Vitalii and Volodymyr Klitschko and Mr. Omelchenko.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 12, 2003, No. 2, Vol. LXXI

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