Turning the pages back... October 18, 1998 (10/16/05)

Turning the pages back...

October 18, 1998

There will be a North American Ukrainian diaspora in the year 2020, reported The Ukrainian Weekly on October 18, 1998. That was the verdict heard loud and clear at The 2020 Conference sponsored by the Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Association (UAPBA) of New York and New Jersey over the previous weekend in East Hanover, N.J.

The question of whether there will be a diaspora for the next generation and whether that matters "to us, to our descendants and to Ukraine" was one of many posed during the two-day conference attended by more than 120 persons from various communities and diverse organizations scattered throughout the United States and Canada.

Bohdan Vitvitsky, a founder of the UAPBA and its president, guided the conference from its germination as an idea to its conclusion. Setting the stage for the four panel presentations that were to follow, Dr. Vitvitsky offered that "there are three views of our community": the first says "don't worry, we're on automatic pilot"; the second that "only Ukraine matters"; and the third, which he referred to as "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" view, is that "we as a diaspora are doomed to near immediate extinction."

"I and some of my colleagues do not subscribe to any of these views. And, it is in part our disagreement with all of these views that has prompted us to organize this conference," he explained. "I believe that there are still far too many of us who care about what we have inherited to allow our community to disappear," he stated. "It does matter a great deal whether there is a diaspora in the year 2020, and the reasons it does are numerous."

Among the reasons Dr. Vitvitsky cited were: "the diaspora is a transmission belt for a rich and distinctive cultural, religious and intellectual heritage created over centuries on two continents"; the diaspora serves as a "counterweight to the vulgarity and moral imbecility of so much that passes for popular culture in North America today"; the Ukrainian ethos is "an endangered species"; Ukraine still needs our help; and, finally, "we owe it to ... the millions upon millions of Ukrainians ... who fought and died to preserve that which was handed down to us - to stay the course and keep our blood- and tear-soaked heritage and traditions alive both for our children and grandchildren."

Dr. Vitvitsky outlined what is needed for the diaspora to survive and thrive: "we must understand that the community's future depends on us"; "we must come to understand that we're all in this together" and take advantage of the synergies that we have; we need "a renewed commitment"; "we must learn to market and promote the community's value and attractiveness to ourselves and our children"; and we "need to strengthen the intellectual base for our continued existence."

Source: "The 2020 Conference says: yes, the diaspora will survive," by Roma Hadzewycz, The Ukrainian Weekly, October 18, 1998, Vol. LXVI, No. 42.

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