UWC Vice President pays official visit to Ukraine

Nataliya Poshyvaylo-Towler, UWC Vice President for Southern and Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Türkiye, and Lebanon, paid an official visit to Ukraine earlier this month.

Working meetings with representatives of the academic and civic community took place in Kyiv on Sept. 4-6.

As in previous years, the UWC Vice President delivered a guest lecture to students of the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv.

“We have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Nataliya for several years now and are always delighted to welcome her to the Department of Modern and Contemporary History of Foreign Countries with lectures for our students,” the university said in a statement.

More than 100 students attended her lecture on the role and activities of the global Ukrainian community that focused on Australia and the countries she represents in her capacity as the global NGO’s vice president.

“I truly value our cooperation, which has lasted for more than five years,” Poshyvaylo-Towler said.

During her visit, she also toured the Museum of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Kyiv. Under a cooperation agreement, she donated books and materials on the Ukrainian community in Australia to the museum’s collection.

“These materials will be a valuable addition to the museum’s library and a reminder of the active role Ukrainian women have played in building communities overseas,” she said.

As head of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Victoria (Australia), Poshyvaylo-Towler also discussed future cooperation with the museum, including the possibility of hosting a new exhibition.

Together with Natalya Kovalova, co-founder and chair of the Board at the nonprofit Kraiany Association of Ukraine-Japan Friendship, she viewed the exhibition UKRAЇNKI, which is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America.

“This museum is a special place that preserves the history and contemporary life of Ukrainian communities around the world,” Poshyvaylo-Towler said.

She and Kovalova also visited the Occupied Heritage exhibition at the Ivan Honchar Museum and exchanged impressions with the museum’s director, Petro Honchar.

The project showcases reconstructions of traditional clothing from regions currently under temporary occupation. The garments are the result of meticulous work by folklorists, ethnographers, and museum experts who relied on historical sources, archival photographs, and oral testimonies that were collected before the war.

The UWC Vice President also met with the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory to discuss a potential joint international project aimed at promoting little-known prominent Ukrainians worldwide.

“Together, we are bringing to light little-known figures of great Ukrainians around the world!” Poshyvaylo-Towler said.