New Beginnings

By Walter Kish

Many of our regular readers also happen to be members of the UNF (Ukrainian National Federation) and are familiar with its memorable seventy-five plus year history in Canada. Although the organization has shrunk significantly in recent decades compared to its peak during the 1950s and 60s, recent events are giving rise to renewed hopes that the tide is turning and the future will be more about growth and rejuvenation rather than further decline.

The catalyst for this change was the election last fall of a dynamic new UNF of Canada Board of Directors headed by Taras Pidzamecky, the majority of whom belong to a younger generation of Canadian-born and well-educated professionals.  The change in priorities and focus has been refreshing – more pragmatism and less politics, more action and less talk, more looking towards the future than arguing about the past, more time spent brainstorming new initiatives and less on maintaining obsolete ones, more investment in youth and growth rather than endless analysis on why Ukrainian organizations everywhere are declining.  And of course, there is the obvious realisation that one of the organization’s primary purposes is to ensure its own existence and remain relevant to newer generations of Ukrainian Canadians.

To this end, the National Board of Directors has shifted from being a passive overseer of branch operations to being an active producer of ideas, programs, resources, and “how-to” kits for holding branch events.  Board members have been criss-crossing the country, stimulating local branch interest and providing organizational support and assistance in revitalising branch activity.

One of the key initiatives that is starting to gain some traction is the revival of UNF branches in cities that once had a UNF organizational presence.  Some significant efforts have been made in a number of such cities in recent months, namely Regina, Oshawa and St. Catharines, and several weeks ago we saw the first tangible result – a group of enthusiastic locals revived the UNF Branch in Oshawa, Ontario.

It is a turning point of sorts; one we hope will be repeated in other cities.  It will also be the pilot for a new model of the UNF, an active branch without a hall or permanent facilities.  Having a hall had both practical and symbolic advantages for UNF branches in the past, but as membership shrank over the years, to many it also became a burden.  Maintaining such facilities required significant investments in time, money and energy.  Shrinking resources that should have gone into cultural, educational and other organizational programs went increasingly into just keeping halls afloat.  For many UNF branches, it became too much of a burden and they dissolved under the strain.

The UNF Oshawa Branch intends to devote all their resources to programming and organizational development.  They feel that there are sufficient community event and meeting spaces available at reasonable rental rates to carry out an active program while minimizing administrative overheads and facilities costs.  In this manner, most of the organization’s energies will be dedicated to constructive, program driven activities.

There are successful precedents for such an operational model.  Most branches of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional & Businessmen’s Association, for instance, operate an active and diverse program of events without having their own facilities. 

Initial plans for the UNF Oshawa Branch include organizing regular Ukrainian movie nights, educational lectures and presentations, Ukrainian musical and other entertainment and various social events.

In case you are wondering why I am so familiar with the plans for the  UNF Oshawa Branch, I should mention that I live in Oshawa and at the inaugural branch meeting, I was elected President and my wife the Secretary.  In addition, two other members of our executive are also current or former members of the UNF of Canada Board of Directors.  The experience and talent is there and we will work hard to live up to the promise.