Ukrainian World Congress

Ukrainian World Congress (Ukrainian: Світовий Конґрес Українців) is a non-profit organization, nonpartisan association, international coordination assembly of all Ukrainian public organizations in diaspora. It represents the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians.

General information

The congress has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 in New York City as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians by the supporters of Andriy Atanasovych Melnyk, co-founder of OUN, who proposed founding such an organization in 1957. Organization was renamed in 1993 to its current name. In 2003 the Ukrainian World Congress was recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.[1]

Goals and Objectives

The main goals and objectives of the UWC are to: 1) represent the interests of Ukrainians in the diaspora; 2) coordinate an international network of member organizations that support and promote the Ukrainian national identity, spirit, language, culture and achievements of Ukrainians throughout the world; 3) promote the civic development of Ukrainians in their countries of settlement, while fostering a positive attitude towards Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state; and 4) defend the rights of Ukrainians, independently of their place of residence in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Leadership

2008-2018 Eugene Czolij from Canada has been President of the UWC. He was elected in 2008 by the IX World Congress of Ukrainians. Now ten years later on the XI Ukrainian World Congress, which took place in November 2018 in Kyiv, Paul Grod also from Canada has been elected new president of the UWC.

Members of the Executive Committee include: Jaroszlava Hartyanyi, Hungary, 1st vice-president Irene Sushko, Canada, 2nd vice-president, President of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations Stefan Romaniw, Australia, Secretary-General Ihor Laszok, USA, Financial Officer Zenon Potichnyj, Canada, Treasurer

Councils and Committees

13 UWC councils and committees work actively to address questions that define Ukrainian community life. These include human and civil rights, UN matters, awareness of the Holodomor in the international community, education, social services, youth, assistance to Ukrainian citizens living abroad, scholarly matters, culture, the fight against human trafficking, media, sport and the cooperative movement.

Priority Issues

Currently, the UWC has been actively promoting Ukraine's Euro-integration in meetings with high-ranking officials of the European Union. The UWC has called for the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement as early as 25 February 2013 during the EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

The UWC has focused on such important issues as: the protection and defence of the human and national minority rights of Ukrainians; the international recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-33 as an act of genocide (now officially recognized by 16 countries); the democratization of Ukraine and its integration into the European Union; the strengthening of Ukraine as a state and the inviolability of its borders; election monitoring, including the UWC’s International Election Observation Mission to the 2012 Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine (the largest non-government sponsored mission of its kind); the social and economic issues surrounding the economic migration from Ukraine; the promotion of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine and the diaspora; the return to the Ukrainian community in Poland of the Ukrainian National Home in Przemyszl which was confiscated during the Operation Vistula (Akcja Wisla); and the global problem of human trafficking.

Since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the UWC has been helping Ukraine become the natural epicentre for Ukrainianism throughout the world for the benefit of Ukrainians both in Ukraine and abroad.

Members
  • European Congress of Ukrainians (Yaroslava Khortiani)
    • Armenia: Federation of Ukrainians of Armenia "Ukraine"
    • Belgium: Main Council of Ukrainian Public Organizations
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Coordination council of Ukrainian associations
    • Czech Republic: Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic
    • Croatia: Union of Rusyns and Ukrainians of the Republic of Croatia
    • Estonia: Congress of Ukrainians of Estonia
    • France: Representative Committee of the Ukrainian Community of France
    • Georgia: Coordination Council of Ukrainians of Georgia
    • Germany: Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany
    • Greece: Association of the Ukrainian diaspora in Greece "Ukrainian-Greek Thought"
    • Hungary: Association of Ukrainian Culture in Hungary
    • Italy
    • Latvia: Ukrainian Cultural-Enlightening Association in Latvia "Dnieper"
    • Lithuania: Community of Ukrainians of Lithuania
    • Moldova: Society of Ukrainians of Transnistria
    • Norway
    • Poland: Association of Ukrainians in Poland (Piotr Tyma)
    • Portugal: Society of Ukrainians in Portugal
    • Romania: Union of Ukrainians of Romania
    • Russia: Association of Ukrainians of Russia
    • Serbia
    • Slovakia: Union of Rusyn-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic
    • Spain
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom: Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (Zenko Lastowiecki)
  • Others

List of all congresses
OrderDateLocationSubjects of discussion
I World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 12–19, 1967 New York City
II World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 1–4, 1973 Toronto
III World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 23–26, 1978 New York
IV World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 30 - December 4, 1983 Toronto
V World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 22–27, 1988 Toronto
VI World Congress of Free Ukrainians November 2–7, 1993 Toronto
VII Ukrainian World Congress December 2–7, 1998 Toronto
VIII Ukrainian World Congress August 18–21, 2003 Kiev
IX Ukrainian World Congress August 20–22, 2008 Ukrainian House, Kiev
X Ukrainian World Congress August 20–22, 2013 Lviv Polytechnic, Lviv
  • Euro-integration of Ukraine
  • Ukrainian World
  • 80th Anniversary of Holodomor
XI Ukrainian World Congress November 25–27, 2018 Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kiev
  • Election of the new President

See also

References
  1. List of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as of 1 September 2012. UN Economic and Social Council.
  2. Українські крайові центральні репрезентації в США. Ukrainian World Congress

Sources
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