International Ukrainian women's group attends conference at United Nations (10/29/06)

International Ukrainian women's group attends conference at United Nations

by Diana Howansky

UNITED NATIONS - Representatives of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations (WFUFO) attended a conference at the United Nations on September 6-8, the goal of which was to bring together non-governmental organizations from around the world and to promote partnerships between these groups and the United Nations, as well as their home governments.

Emphasizing that such relationships still need to be built and strengthened, the conference was titled "Unfinished Business: Effective Partnerships for Human Security and Sustainable Development - 59th Annual Department of Public Information/NGO Conference."

"The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations, even though it is only one of over 2,700 organizations accredited with the Economic and Social Council of the UN, is one of only a very few Ukrainian organizations with such status and one of two (the Ukrainian World Congress being the other) that has local access to the U.N.," said Marta Kichorowska-Kebalo, one of the WFUFO representatives at the conference. "It is important to keep current on developments at the U.N., and to maintain and even cultivate a Ukrainian presence at the U.N. as a platform from which we can interject on behalf of Ukraine, as advocates for Ukrainian women in Ukraine and in the diaspora."

The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations is an international federation of 23 non-profit organizations from 12 countries spanning four continents, which supports cultural, educational, humanitarian and social programs, and advocates the advancement of the status of women, their families and children.

Throughout the three-day conference, speakers stressed the importance of non-governmental organizations and civil society, underlining that people across the globe must take charge of their own lives and act in areas where government is unable or unwilling to act. One notable speaker, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, addressed the participants at the conference's closing, saying that the United Nations during his tenure has made a conscious effort to help civil society grow, because it recognizes that non-governmental organizations have been instrumental in the global fight against poverty, infectious diseases, genocide, war crimes and other problems.

"More and more, the initiative to improve the human condition comes from voluntary groups such as yours," said Mr. Annan, eliciting applause from the audience. "You have the capacity to push the envelope and say things that we cannot say, that I cannot say. And I'll let you in on a secret. I often love you for it," he said.

A total of 1,879 representatives from 540 non-governmental organizations and 67 countries registered for the conference, including 49 representatives from Eastern European countries like Russia and Belarus. No non-governmental organizations from Ukraine attended the conference, although foreign organizations conducting programs in Ukraine - such as Search for Common Ground, which noted its work with television stations in Ukraine and the use of soap operas to teach about diversity - shared their experiences and knowledge.

"It seemed that the Second World (former USSR territories and satellites) was pushed to the side, lumped with the First World, for all intents and purposes, without addressing its unique problems in meeting the Millennium Development Goals," commented Ms. Kichorowska-Kebalo about this year's NGO conference. "The countries that share a legacy as Soviet republics seem to all be experiencing a reversal of life quality. Financial and employment indicators as well as health indicators, especially as seen through life expectancy statistics and the overwhelming threat of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, are of special concern. While Ukraine has had some strong socio-economic indicators since independence, the above are areas in which Ukraine struggles to provide for the welfare of its citizens," she explained.

Because a priority of the conference was to focus on the youth and teaching the younger generation both the significance of the United Nations and the need to take responsibility through civil society, the conference organizers asked each of the registered organizations to invite a representative under the age of 25. The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations invited Roman Tabatchouk, a political science and economics student at Rutgers University.

"Some important points that I came to realize during the conference were that governments of nations and NGOs need to work together more closely," said Mr. Tabatchouk. "Governments should incorporate NGOs into their budget plans and their fiscal policies. It would relieve a lot of stress for the government if they relied on NGOs to take care of certain parts of their social plans."

The conference not only provided organizations with the opportunity to cooperate more closely with the United Nations, but also encouraged the non-governmental organizations to share information and form personal contacts with one another.

"I believe that Ukrainian Americans and Ukrainians need to work much more closely than they do now. Ukrainian NGOs here not only can but should partner up with NGOs from Ukraine and other regions to work on joint ideas. Ukrainian NGOs from around the world can work to promote social and economic improvement in Ukraine," Mr. Tabatchouk noted.

The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations also took the opportunity to co-sponsor one of the NGO-sponsored workshops - titled "Migrant Families as Agents of Development: Conflicting Priorities" - that were held in between the official conference roundtables to promote discussion.

Representatives of the WFUWO constantly listened for ideas that might be applicable to Ukrainian conditions, they said. For example, while listening to a discussion about a partnership between 35 schools in Zimbabwe and 35 schools in Brooklyn, which provided not just supplies but new methods of alleviating poverty, Nadia Shmigel, the WFUWO's main NGO representative to the U.N., said she was reminded of the WFUWO's member-organizations' work on providing scholarships to schools in Ukraine.

"These programs not only bring resources, they also connect people to learn about reality of others in the world, build self-esteem, and help people to build a new perspective," said Mr. Shmigel.

Diana Howansky is a staff associate at the Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University. During the spring 2007 semester, the Ukrainian Studies Program plans to offer the course "Ukraine and the United Nations Through the Eyes of a Ukrainian Ambassador: Diplomacy and Politics," by Ambassador Valeriy Kuchinsky, former permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations.

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