UWC President speaks at Canada’s National Conference for Ukrainian Educators

TORONTO – Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Paul Grod spoke at the National Conference for Ukrainian Educators titled, “Ukrainian Education in Canada: New Realities, New Innovations,” held from May 16 to 18 in Canada’s most populous metropolis.

In his address, Grod highlighted the vital role that Ukrainian education plays in terms of learning the modern language spoken in Ukraine, its culture, geography, history, and songs as a bedrock for maintaining and preserving Ukrainian identity.

He thanked Ukrainian educators across Canada and emphasized that weekly Ukrainian schools do more than just teach academic subjects — they also raise young generations with a strong sense of national dignity and responsibility for Ukraine’s future, wherever these children are born and raised around the world.

The conference also featured Lyuba Lyubchyk, Chair of the UWC’s International Educational Coordinating Council (IECC).

A devoted educator, Lyubchyk expressed deep gratitude to representatives of Ukrainian education in Canada.

“The Ukrainian school in Canada carries over 130 years of history and educational tradition. It represents more than a century of steadfast commitment to preserving Ukrainian identity and national consciousness on Canadian soil,” Lyubchyk said “It is a successful model of native-language schooling based on national values and stands as a source of pride and a unique phenomenon within the global Ukrainian diaspora.”

Lyubchyk further explained that the story of Ukrainian schooling worldwide is largely shaped by experiences in Canada and the United States — “a story of resilience often in spite of difficult circumstances, conducted on foreign soil and under foreign rules, yet demonstrating the lasting viability of Ukrainian Saturday and Sunday schools.”

“These efforts, both at the end of the 19th century and today, have been made possible thanks to dedicated Ukrainians — teachers in diaspora schools who faithfully and reliably sustain our native language education,” she said.

Lyubchyk described in-person teacher conferences like this one as vital for fostering “a shared awareness of unity aimed at developing and expanding Ukrainian-language education wherever we live. They support professional growth and a collective desire to work together so that Ukrainian schools and the Ukrainian language continue to thrive worldwide.”