UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS

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HISTORY

Fr. Dr. Wasyl Kushnir

1973-1978, 1967-1969

Fr. Dr. Wasyl Kushnir
Joseph Lesawyer

1969-1971

Joseph Lesawyer
Antin Melnyk

1971-1973

Antin Melnyk
Mykola Plaviuk

1978-1981

Mykola Plaviuk
Ivan Bazarko

I981-1983

Ivan Bazarko
Peter Savaryn

1983-1988

Peter Savaryn
Yuri Shymko

1988-1993

Yuri Shymko
Dr. Dmytro Cipywnyk

1993-1998

Dr. Dmytro Cipywnyk
Lozynskyj

1998-2008

Dr. Askold S. Lozynskyj

2008-2018

Eugene Czolij

2018-now

Paul Grod
  • І Congress WCFU November 12-19, 1967 New York, USA
  • І Congress WCFU November 12-19, 1967 New York, USA
  • ІІ Congress WCFU November 1-4, 1973 Toronto, Canada
  • ІІІ Congress WCFU November 23-26, 1978 New York, USA
  • ІV Congress WCFU November 30 – December 4,1983 Toronto, Canada
  • V Congress WCFU November 22-27, 1988 Toronto, Canada
  • VI Congress WCFU November 2-7, 1993 Toronto, Canada
  • VII Congress UWC December 2-7, 1998 Toronto, Canada
  • VIII Congress UWC August 18-21, 2003 Kyiv, Ukraine
  • ІХ Congress UWC August 20-22, 2008 Kyiv, Ukraine
  • X Congress UWC August 20-22, 2013 Lviv, Ukraine
  • XI Congress UWC November 24-27, 2018 Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian World Congresses were held every five (5) years before 2018. Prior to 1993, the Ukrainian World Congress was known as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians.

IX UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS

The information about the IX UWC Congress is
available only in Ukrainian

Annual General Meeting in Berlin (2019)

September 6-8, 2019, at Berlin City Hall in Germany, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) reviewed the past year’s work from November 2018 and developed an action plan for the year ahead.

Participants of the AGM from over 20 countries gathered in Berlin to support the Ukrainian community in Germany, and to focus the attention of German high-ranking officials and civil society on current Ukrainian issues, including the importance of consolidating action in the war with Russian hybrid aggression and the recent release of Ukrainian political prisoners, whose return to Ukraine on September 7 was welcomed by delegates and guests of the AGM.

During the official opening of the AGM, the UWC recognized German politician, former Member of European Parliament Rebecca Harms, for her support of Ukraine. She was awarded the UWC’s highest honour – St. Volodymyr the Great Medal. The UWC also expressed gratitude with Certificates of Acknowledgement to representatives of German civil society, specifically, Barbara Stamm, former President of the Landtag of Bavaria, initiator of the Bavarian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and good friend of Ukraine (Würzburg), Edigna Kellermann, Chair of Edigna-Puch community organization (Puch), and Maria Melnik, President of the Rhein-Neckar German-Ukrainian Society (Heidelberg), and members of the Ukrainian community in Germany, including Ludmila Mlosch, President of the Central Union of Ukrainians in Germany, and Rostyslav Sukennyk, President of the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany, for assisting with the organization of the AGM in Germany.

Over three days participants of the AGM had the opportunity to hear reports from UWC President Paul Grod and the UWC leadership, and to discuss topical issues for Ukrainians in the diaspora during six round tables: “Development, coordination and structuring of Ukrainian communities in the world”, “Means of cooperation between Ukraine and the diaspora under new circumstances. Defending the interests of Ukraine globally – on the path to the EU and NATO”, “Shaping the self-identification of Ukrainian youth in the diaspora”, “Substantial extension of the rights of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine – creating favourable conditions for their return and strengthening relations with Ukraine”, “Unifying role of Ukrainian churches and the importance of their recognition in ecumenical structures”, “UWC strategy for international recognition of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.”

During the meeting delegates resolutely condemned the Russian Federation for its hybrid war against Ukraine and illegal imprisonment of Ukrainian political prisoners, and called upon the international community to continue supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, significantly strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation for violating the international order, and to increase lethal weapons and military support to Ukraine. The UWC AGM welcomed Ukraine’s strategic course toward European and Euro-Atlantic integration and called upon the European Union and NATO to expedite Ukraine’s full membership.

“The UWC AGM strongly condemned the decision of the Russian Federation to declare the UWC an unwanted organization and resolved to take the issue to relevant international courts,” stated UWC President Paul Grod. “UWC AGM participants call upon the President, Government and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to protect and develop the Ukrainian language, traditions, culture and history as the foundation for uniting and developing the Ukrainian state and the global Ukrainian community.”

In the framework of the AGM, the UWC leadership met with leaders of the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany and Central Union of Ukrainians in Germany to discuss effective means of cooperation and strengthening community unity and influence on German governing structures on issues of common interest.

INTERNATIONAL UWC EVENTS COMMEMORATING ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2017

In 2017 the UWC, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary organized a round table, the Inaugural Economic Forum and five International Conferences to analyze 50 years of activity and develop a roadmap for the future, particularly on current issues with respect to support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and its ongoing European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

  • Roundtable on the topic “UWC at 50 and beyond: The Australian context” (in cooperation with the Mykola Zerov Centre for Ukrainian Studies at Monash University and the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations), 10 August 2017 in Melbourne, Australia;
  • Inaugural Economic Forum: “Support for the economic development of Ukraine: Cooperation between the Ukrainian Government and Diaspora” (in cooperation with the US-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce and Canada‑Ukraine Chamber of Commerce), 25 August 2017, Kyiv, Ukraine;
  • International Conference “UWC at 50 and Beyond: The European Context” (in cooperation with the International Institute for Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations, Lviv Polytechnic National University), 28 August 2017, Lviv, Ukraine;
  • International Conference “UWC at 50 and Beyond: The North American Vector” (in cooperation with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America), 16 September 2017, New York, USA;
  • International Conference “UWC at 50 and Beyond: The South American Vector” (in cooperation with the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation), 30 September 2017, Curitiba, Brazil;
  • International Conference “UWC at 50 and Beyond: European and Euro-Atlantic Forum” (in cooperation with the Association of Ukrainians in Belgium), 7 November 2017, Brussels, Belgium; and
  • International Conference “UWC at 50 and Beyond: The Roadmap” (in cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress), 10-11 November 2017, Toronto, Canada.

THE HISTORY OF THE UWC