Curkowskyj Foundation supports Internet encyclopedia (01/12/03)

Curkowskyj Foundation supports Internet encyclopedia

TORONTO - In the autumn of 1999, staff at the Toronto Office of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) initiated a project to develop an Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU) as the most comprehensive web-based resource in English on Ukraine and Ukrainians. This project was conceived as a successor to the five-volume Encyclopedia of Ukraine (University of Toronto Press, 1984-1993), a joint venture of the CIUS and the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Western Europe that was generously supported by the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (CFUS).

The IEU website was established in 2001. It is maintained and is being expanded by a team of scholarly and technical editors at the CIUS Toronto Office headed by Roman Senkus, managing editor, and Marko Stech, project manager.

This immense learning resource is based on the contributions of hundreds of dedicated specialists from around the world who have contributed to the Entsyklopediia Ukrainoznavstva since the late 1940s and the Encyclopedia of Ukraine since the late 1970s.

Owing to the complexity and labor-intensive nature of the work on the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine and its website (www.encyclopediaofukraine.com), however, only a fraction of the vast body of knowledge that will become available is currently accessible to Internet users. Entries are being written, edited and updated daily. But the rate at which information can be added to the site will depend greatly on the availability of financial resources to engage additional qualified editorial and web personnel to work on the project. Additional, ongoing financial support from individual and organizational benefactors is crucial if the project is to achieve its goal.

Earlier this year, the Rev. Marian and Dr. Roman Curkowskyj Foundation signalled its support for the IEU project with a grant of $15,000. The foundation considers the IEU to be of particular importance to Ukrainians worldwide, and it encourages individuals and organizations, particularly in Canada and the United States, to provide financial backing for this historic undertaking. "We consider the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine to be one of the most crucial undertakings in Ukrainian scholarship and education," said Dr. Roman Curkowskyj, president of the foundation. "This project fits well with the main goals and priorities of the Curkowskyj Foundation," explained Christine Curkowskyj, the foundation's secretary.

Established in 1990 in Toronto and funded primarily by endowments from Dr. Roman Curkowskyj and, more recently, Roman K. Inc., the Curkowskyj Foundation has directed its resources toward supporting the advancement of education and the study and writing of works in Ukrainian history. It has established an endowment fund at the CFUS to encourage and promote higher education and career mentorship for Ukrainian Canadian students; and it has provided financial support for the construction of the Youth Center at the St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto and for the Ukrainian Canadian Care Center in Toronto.

The Curkowskyj Foundation has also been active in Ukraine: it has donated books to educational institutions and libraries in Kyiv and Lviv; provided scholarships to students attending the Greek-Catholic Lviv Theological Academy and its successor, the Ukrainian Catholic University; and awarded several publication grants.

The CIUS noted that benefactors are encouraged to create endowments designated for the IEU project as a whole or for any area of study that will be featured in the IEU. All donations will be gratefully acknowledged, and receipts for tax purposes will be issued.

Donations (payable to CIUS - Encyclopedia of Ukraine) may be sent to: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 450 Athabasca Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E8, Canada.

For further information readers may call (780) 492-2972; fax (780) 492-2972; or e-mail [email protected].

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