AN APPEAL FOR INVOLVEMENT: Support the global Ukrainian community during Ukrainian World Congress month (05/08/05)

AN APPEAL FOR INVOLVEMENT

Support the global Ukrainian community during Ukrainian World Congress month

The organized Ukrainian diaspora played a significant role during the Orange Revolution. A record number of Ukrainian citizens in the diaspora participated in the elections. Over 2,600 diaspora Ukrainians - citizens of their own countries - served as international election observers at various polling stations throughout the world. The refrain at Independence Square in Kyiv "Together We Are Many, We Will Not Be Defeated!" is profoundly symbolic for the global Ukrainian community.

Considering the demographic factor that one in three Ukrainians lives outside Ukraine (numbering some 20 million), this symbolism becomes an even more significant unifying factor: 20 million Ukrainians in the diaspora are an integral part of the Ukrainian nation.

A revolutionary process strengthens its participants and, today, the Ukrainian nation serves as an example for others - an example of unity, courage and dedication to values of justice and democracy. The realization of these principles, the further development of a national-spiritual self-awareness and economic well-being is a task that faces both the Ukrainian nation in Ukraine and in the diaspora.

The further development and well being of the diaspora is no less important than the development of the nation in our ancestral homeland. This is the direction in which the new president and government of Ukraine will be working. However, their priority is safeguarding the well-being of the people in Ukraine. Therefore, the community structures in the diaspora not only continue to fulfill the role of ambassadors of Ukraine that are involved in promoting Ukrainian causes in countries where Ukrainians reside, but also are the principal source for defending the rights of Ukrainians residing abroad.

The work of the Ukrainian World Congress is well-known to most Ukrainians. In the past these efforts resulted in various degrees of success. However, contemporary conditions compel maximum effort. Today Ukraine is a player in world politics, artificial political borders have dissipated, and electronic communication has enabled a new interaction and closer ties for bringing to the fore a new concept - a global Ukrainianism. Today, Ukrainians in the West have the wherewithal and ability to help their less fortunate brothers and sisters, i.e., broadening the network of communication among Ukrainians, who find themselves in 11 different time zones in the Russian Federation, assisting the development of a Ukrainian school system in the Transdniester region of Moldova, or establishing a monument to Ukrainian victims of Soviet repression on the territory of Karelia in the Russian Federation.

The full development of a global Ukrainian community is the implementation of the sense of the refrain on Independence Square:

"Together We Are Many, We Will Not Be Defeated!"

The month of May is the month for donating to the Ukrainian World Congress. We appeal to you: join in building a global Ukrainian community! Help in the realization of the tasks that the UWC has pledged to fulfill. Open your hearts and your financial capabilities and assist the UWC in manifesting to all Ukrainians in the diaspora that they are a part of our global Ukrainian family.

Please send your donations to: 145 Evans Ave., No. 207, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5X8, Canada; or 225 E. 11th St., New York, NY, 10003. For tax-deductible donations in Canada please make your check out to Ukrainian World Foundation and in the U.S.A. to Ukrainian Congress Committee of America or Ukrainian American Coordinating Council. In other countries you also can make donations through your national central representation.

We sincerely thank you for your generosity and support.

For the Ukrainian World Congress:

Askold Lozynskyj, president
Victor Pedenko, secretary-general
Bohdan Fedorak, financial officer
Olga Danylak, treasurer

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