Paula Dobriansky to be keynote speaker at celebration of Ukraine's independence

PHILADELPHIA - The Ukrainian community of Philadelphia will gather to celebrate the 14th anniversary of Ukraine's independence with a commemorative concert on Wednesday, August 24, at 7 p.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Jenkintown, Pa.

Taking part in the program will be the Prometheus male choir under the baton of Nestor Kyzymyshyn and accompanied on the piano by Halia Mazurok-Reyj. Well-known soloist Lesia Hrabova will also take part. Also scheduled to perform are the Dzvinochky ensemble of the local Baptist Ukrainian community and the popular Ukrainian dance troupe Voloshky.

The keynote address will be delivered by Paula J. Dobriansky, undersecretary for democracy and global affairs at the U.S. State Department. Dr. Dobriansky was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 12, 2001. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on April 26 and sworn in on May 1, 2001. In this position she is responsible for a broad range of foreign issues, including democracy, human rights, counter-narcotics and law enforcement. She has also been designated as the special coordinator for Tibetan issues.

Prior to her appointment Dr. Dobriansky served as senior vice-president and director of the Washington Office of the Council on Foreign Relations. Among the many appointments Dr. Dobriansky has held are deputy head of the U.S. delegation to the 1990 Copenhagen Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and director of European and Soviet affairs at the National Security Council.

Dr. Dobriansky received a B.S.F.S. summa cum laude in international politics from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Soviet political/military affairs from Harvard University. She has served on numerous boards and has lectured and published articles on topics related to foreign affairs.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 21, 2005, No. 34, Vol. LXXIII

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