World
Forum of Ukrainians
By Volodymyr Kish
I am in Kyiv for a couple of conferences, the
first of which is the World Forum of Ukrainians. This is the fifth such
gathering of representatives of Ukrainian organizations from around the world
since the first such forum was held in 1992.
These forums are organized by the Ukrainian World Coordination Council
(better known by its Ukrainian acronym UVKR – Ukrayinska Vsesvitna
Koordinatsiyna Rada), a structure sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of
Undoubtedly, this is one of
the reasons why I found the organizational aspects surrounding this conference
so poorly run. The registration
processes for incoming delegates were chaotic at best, with lack of
information, inadequate signage, late and missing program materials, poor
on-site coordination and last minute changes in venues. The opening ceremonies were held at the
impressive National Opera Theatre, however, I was somewhat less than impressed
to find myself in the nosebleed seats of the fourth balcony. Apparently, some
400 of the best seats were appropriated by the Ministry of Culture for their
own people. Although I realize I may not
exactly be a VIP, I would think that the organizers would want to make a better
impression on foreign guests that travel half way around the world to attend
such an event. The situation proved even
more frustrating the second day when I showed up for the sessions only to be
told that even though I was properly registered as a Guest/Observer, the
capacity of the hall was limited and only full-fledged delegates and
distinguished guests were being allowed in. What a way to win friends and
influence people! In any event, I was
able to sneak in and take part, as the security and controls at the venue were
pretty slack.
President Yanukovych had
been scheduled to address the opening of the conference, however,
unsurprisingly, he chose to skip the event and instead sent his Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Kostyantyn Hryshchenko.
The Minister was jeered and heckled a number of times during his
speech. Although I found the heckling
somewhat bush league, I can understand how some of his remarks, such as how the
government was making great strides in democratic reform and fighting
corruption, might have struck a raw nerve with some of the delegates.
Throughout the proceedings
of the Forum, representatives from dozens of countries presented an overview of
the state of Ukrainian life in their home countries, however, almost all of
them took the opportunity to vociferously lambaste the Ukrainian government and
President Yanukovych in particular for what was happening in
It is clear that the Forum
currently has little direct power or ability to influence what the Ukrainian
government does. Nonetheless, it does
have significant value in two respects.
Firstly, is its propaganda value – the Forum was well covered in the
national media of
It is a real shame that the
Ukrainian government ever since independence has held diaspora Ukrainians in
such low regard. There is a wealth of
talent, experience, political and economic capital that could be brought to
bear to deal with the many issues that any new fledgling democracy is faced
with. Unfortunately, whether the
President has been Kravchuk, Kuchma, Yushchenko or now Yanukovych, they have
all chosen to essentially ignore the advice and involvement of Ukrainians
abroad in the process of building
Ironically, I recently
received a press release from the Ukrainian Embassy in