GG hosts Ukrainian Culture at RideauHall before State Visit
From the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, along with her husband, His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond, will
conduct a State visit to Ukraine, from April 23 to 26, 2009. To showcase the importance of Canada’s relationship with Ukraine, Their Excellencies
hosted a cultural event at Rideau Hall on April 15, with the participation of his Excellency, Ihor Ostash, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada,
who was personally thanked by the Governor General for his work to prepare the State visit.
The State visit to Ukraine will focus on Canada’s ongoing support for the country’s democratic transformation and economic reform.
Canada was the first Western nation to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
is focussing its resources on the issues of governance – more specifically, electoral, administrative and judicial reform – and strengthening
civil society. The State visit will also highlight the historic ties that connect Canada and Ukraine, and the strength of our partnerships.
There are more than one million Canadians of Ukrainian origin living in Canada.
Guests at the GG’s Residence included Deputy Minister James Fox and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada, Canada’s Chief of Protocol Robert Peck, Members of Parliament, Evhen Czolij - World Congress of Ukrainians, Paul Grod -
Ukrainian Canadian Congress as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and cultural groups. The cultural event’s
concert programme included Ukrainian artists Kostyantyn Voynov and Anna Nesvitaylo, dancers from the Atlantic Ballet of Canada,
and pianist Serhiy Salov who performed the Ukrainian rhapsody “Dumka-Shumka” by Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko. Also
at the event, the opening of an exhibit of paintings by renowned Canadian artist of Ukrainian origin William Kurelek, for the first time brought
together the entire series of paintings that comprise Kurelek’s “Ukrainian Pioneers”. Other exhibits of Ukrainian Decorative Arts included
pysanky by Halya Kluchko, Ukrainian Museum of Canada curator and great-granddaughter of Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko plus examples
of ornamental drawings in the style of Petrivski Rozpysy motifs.
Joining the Governor General’s State visit, a delegation of Canadians representing a variety of fields-including diversity, governance, arts
and culture, civic engagement and youth-will play an active role in Their Excellencies’ meetings with civil society.
Their Excellencies’ visit will include meetings with Victor Yushchenko, Yulia Tymoshenko, Volodymyr Lytvyn, commemoration at the
Holodomor memorial monument, a visit to the Pecherska Lavra, and the Chornobyl Museum, as well as meetings regarding civil society.
The Lviv portion of the trip will include commemoration at the Taras Shevchenko monument, meetings with the Mayor of Lviv and the youth
of Lviv and NGO’s working with women, and a visit to the Dzherelo Rehabilation centre for Children with cerebral palsy.
The State visit to Ukraine can be followed on the Governor-General’s web site at www.gg.ca for daily updates,
speeches, photos and videos of the trip. Blogs written by Their Excellencies and the delegates will also be posted on www.citizenvoices.gg.ca