UWC EXECUTIVE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS SCHEDULED

    The UWC Board of Directors annual meeting has been scheduled for June 4-5, 2004 at 6 PM. Executive Board meetings have been planned for December 6, 2003 9:30AM, February 7, 2004 9:30AM, June 4, 2004 4 PM and October 23, 2004 9:30AM. All meetings will take place in Toronto.

UWC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONVENES FIRST MEETING

    The UWC Executive Committee held its first post-Congress meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2003 in Toronto. Participating in the meeting were all six members of the Executive Committee. The agenda included a summary of VIII Congress finances, resolutions and adopted By-laws as well as legal and political consequences of the breach of contract by the Ukrainian Home, representation of churches within the UWC, UWC councils and commissions, the development of a financial strategy, Executive and Board of Directors meetings scheduling, organizational matters, Ukrainian Famine resolution at the United Nations, outlining 2004 anniversaries as well as other matters. In summary:

• the congressional financial report shows a surplus;
• the General Secretary was directed to edit the report of the Resolutions Committee;
• By-Laws were finalized and will be transmitted to all members shortly;
• all UWC statements issued prior to the first Executive Board meeting will be signed in the name of the Executive Committee with notice to all members of the Board of Directors;
• letters will be addressed to the respective Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic Churches and the leading Pastor of the Evangelical Churches in the United States and Canada requesting that they either participate personally in UWC meetings or designate representatives;
• the breach of contract by the Ukrainian  Home issue will be taken by with the President’s Chief of Staff, Victor Medvedchuk, since the Ukrainian Home falls within his jurisdiction;
• election results of the UWC Councils were ratified with the leaderships of only the  Council on Culture and Art, the Commission on Human and Civic Rights and the newly created Media Council taken up and nominations;
• a financial strategy was developed providing for direct contact with Ukrainian financials in the United States, Canada and Australia, inviting representatives of Toronto financials to the UWC’s next meeting, conducting a Christmas fundraising campaign and establishing a Financial Philanthropic Commission;
• the UWC President agreed to visit communities in Central Europe, Scandinavia, Austria and Germany in January 2004 and St. Petersburg, and the former gulag north settlements in Norilsk, Kolyma etc. in Russia in June 2004 while the General Secretary agreed to travel to Kamchatka, Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in June 2004;
• the UWC’s member national coordinating central organizations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia will be contacted to urge their governments’ support of the Ukrainian Famine resolution at the United Nations;
• the 75^th anniversary of the formation of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the 70^th anniversary of the death of Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, the 65^th anniversary of the Ukrainian Carpathian state, the 60^th anniversary of the formation of the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council, the 60^th anniversary of the death of Oleh Kandyba; the 50^th anniversary of the Kinghir uprising, and the 20^th anniversary of the death of Patriarch Josef Slipyj will be observed in 2004;
• an ad hoc Publications Commission and a Commission dealing with New Arrivals were considered;
• the UWC’s relationship with the Ukrainian World Foundation;
• the UWC’s problematic web site were discussed.

UWC PRESIDENT HEADS DIASPORA MEETING WITH UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT

    The UWC President in the company of the President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), Michael Sawkiw, Jr. and Chair of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, Ihor Gawdiak met with Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma on Wednesday, September 24, 2003 during President Kuchma’s stay in New York on the occasion of the opening of the UN General Assembly. The following matters were addressed in an open letter to the President, submitted to him at the meeting and elaborated upon:

• Ukraine’s Famine resolution at the United Nations;
• Famine Memorial  site in Kyiv;
• the recent economic Treaty with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan;
• recognition of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists/Ukrainian Insurgent Army and other Ukrainian military formations by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
• the 350^th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Council;
• Ukrainian language and  culture problems in Ukraine;
• the role of the Moscow Patriarchate church in Ukraine and Russia;
• the mysterious killing of opposition figures in Ukraine and the lack of transparency and success in investigative processes;
• the futility of the VRU in enacting legislation on status of Ukrainians abroad;
• the lack of funding for the Ukrainians Abroad 2005 program;
• denigration of Ukrainian migrant workers by Ukrainian officials;
• the VIII Ukrainian World Congress and its forced change of venue.

    The President was accompanied at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, former Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko and Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Valeriy Kuchinsky.     

UKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA HOSTS ROUNDTABLE

    Round Four of Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Statehood conference is being hosted in Washington DC by the UCCA on October 7-8, 2003. Among the more prominent dignitaries attending are Prime Minister of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych, Chair of Ukraine’s National Bank Serhiy Tyhypko and Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania and Congressman Sander Levin of Michigan.