Roman Tymotsko
During a session of the worldwide conference of Plast leaders.
MUNICH, Germany – Once every three years, Plast leaders from all over the world meet to elect a new board and executives, as well as to analyze the present state of the organization. From October 30 to November 3, the triennial Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations (CUPO) took place in a castle near Munich, Germany. Some 100 representatives from 10 countries approved changes to the constitution of world Plast and discussed Plast’s future.
After the end of World War II, most members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization ended up in camps for displaced persons. One of the largest was in Mittenwald near Munich. A massive gathering of Ukrainian scouts took place there in 1947 – the spring camporee is known as “Sviato Vesny.” At that same location two years ago, Plast celebrated 105 years of its activity and the 70th anniversary of that historic event, which was the last big gathering before most Ukrainians in the DP camps moved to their new homes all over the world. In the meantime, Ukraine was under Soviet occupation, and that made any further Plast activity impossible in its homeland, where it began activity in 1911.
These events led to the establishment of Plast organizations all over the world: from the United States and Canada to Australia and Argentina. Even Tunisia and Brazil have a short history of Ukrainian scouting on their lands.
When most Ukrainians settled down and formed communities within their cities, states, or counties, the next question for Plast was: “How can we stay united, while being scattered all over the world”? Furthermore, how do we keep Plast strong and establish links between Ukrainian scouts on different continents?
In 1953, the Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations was established in response to those questions. As most Ukrainians had the belief that eventually Ukraine would become independent, the mission of CUPO was to maintain the Plast ideology, traditions and methodology, and return it to Ukraine when it would become possible to renew Ukrainian scouting. No one knew that the Soviet occupation would last for decades.
When the USSR started collapsing in 1989, some Plast activists flew to Ukraine and played a key role in creating and training the first Plast groups. Thanks to these dreamers, most of them members of the Ukrainian diaspora, this year Plast is celebraing the 30th anniversary of its re-establishment in Ukraine.
Throughout the 1990s, Ukrainian communities all around the globe were focused on how to help Ukraine as it took its first independent steps. Today, discussions on the roles of Plast in Ukraine and in other countries continue.
Delegates to the 20th Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations.
The 20th Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations held in Munich also focused on these questions. During the international conference, there was a major discussion on the fundamental ideals of Plast during what is known as the Plast Congress. The discussion was moderated by Mychailo Wynnyckyj, associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, and director of the Doctoral School at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.
Prof. Wynnyckyj was born in Canada, where he was an active Plast member. Nearly 20 years ago, he moved to Ukraine; today he is a member of Plast Ukraine’s board of trustees. The congress started a significant discussion about the interactions among national Plast organizations. Currently, two-thirds of the world’s Plast scouts are in Ukraine, but sometimes global decisions are made without a full understanding of the modern Ukrainian context and the needs of children in Ukraine. It is hoped that the results of the sixth Plast Congress will help worldwide Plast build stronger institutions aimed at achieving Plast’s mission.
The culmination of each Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations is an election of the new World Plast Executive (Holovna Plastova Bulava). The newly elected leaders are: CEO of the World Plast Executive – Myron Spolsky (Ukraine); deputy CEO in the Americas – Sofia Zacharczuk (U.S.A.); deputy CEO in Europe – Rostyslav Dobosh (Ukraine); secretary-general – Nataliya Bosak (Ukraine); financial director – Bohdan Sawycky (U.S.A.); communications and publishing director – Mykola Muzala (Ukraine); special projects director – Andrey Genyk-Berezowsky (Canada).
Elected to the World Plast Supervisory Board were: chairman – Ihor Mykyta (U.S.A.); vice-chair – Ksenia Baluk (Argentina); secretary – Marko Chukvinsky (Ukraine); members – Oksana Mykytchak (Germany) and Ihor Michalchyshyn (Canada); alternate members – Roman Waschuk (Canada) and Olia Dudynsky (Australia).
Worldwide Plast’s new leader, Mr. Spolsky, was born in Toronto and has been a member of Plast for 60 years. In 1977-1978 he was a vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress; in 1980-1986 he headed the Commission of Development of the Ukrainian Community in Winnipeg; and in 1986-1987 he was a director of the Department of the Multiculturalism of the provincial government of Manitoba. In 1988 he moved to Ukraine, where he established one of the first pizzerias in Ukraine, Vesuvio Pizza. Mr. Spolsky has been a member of Plast Ukraine’s board of trustees and for the last three years was a member of the World Plast Executive.
Other major decisions approved at CUPO included the recognition of a new age group in Plast and the inclusion of a new national Plast organization into its ranks.
For most of its history, Plast had four age groups: “novatstvo” (cub scouts, age 6-10 years old), “yunatstvo” (scouts age 11-17), “starshe plastuntstvo” (young adult scouts, age 18-34) and “seniorat” (adults age 35 and over). At this year’s CUPO, a historic decision was made to officially recognize a new age group: “ptashata” comprises children age 2 to 6 who participate in Plast activities with the supervision of their parents. Now “ptashata” are recognized in Plast worldwide and have officially become the youngest members of the Ukrainian scouting organization.
Plast of Austria has become the newest member of the Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations following its rapid development during the last few years. Thus, CUPO now has 10 member countries. It should be noted that Europe has many small Plast groups – communities that have less than 50 scout members. Indeed, Austria was one of those Plast groups before it became a full member of CUPO. This decision to accept Plast Austria as a member of CUPO is certain to motivate Plast groups in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and other countries to grow their ranks.