CFU Meet Officials and NGO’s in Ukraine

By Lisa Shymko

Representatives of Canadian Friends of Ukraine (CFU) recently met with government officials and non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives in Ukraine to discuss issues of mutual interest to Canada and Ukraine, including projects currently funded by CFU.

The bilateral consultations included a meeting with Ukraine’s Acting Minister  of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Volodymyr Khandogiy, who thanked CFU for its notable contribution to Canada’s historic recognition of the Holodomor as genocide. The one-hour meeting, held at the Minister’s office in Kyiv, focused on cooperation in the area of cultural and educational initiatives as well as projects related to promoting international awareness of the Holodomor-Genocide through multi-lingual exhibits and publications. At the close of the meeting, Margareta Shpir (CFU President) and Lisa Shymko (Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Centre) presented the Minister with a certificate and gift marking the 20^th Anniversary of Canadian Friends of Ukraine.

Since CFU’s sister organization – the Popular Movement for Democracy and Reform in Ukraine – better known as RUKH, was founded twenty years ago in Ukraine, a number of events were held in Kyiv to celebrate this anniversary. RUKH’s current leader and former foreign minister, the Hon. Borys Tarasyuk, met with representatives of CFU to discuss RUKH’s historic legacy and its efforts to bring transparency to Ukraine’s political process. Mr. Tarasyuk, who currently chairs the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration, was presented with CFU’s commemorative certificate marking the organization’s 20^th anniversary. CFU’s delegation also met with Ivan Drach, a founding member of RUKH and the honorary chair of Ukraine’s National Committee to Commemorate RUKH’s formation.

CFU also participated in the unveiling of the Art Arsenal Museum Complex in Kyiv known as Mystetsky Arsenal, officially opened by President Viktor Yushchenko. The museum is located on a former military site in Kyiv’s Pechersk district. The art complex, which President Yushchenko has termed Ukraine’s “Louvre”, opened with a collection containing rare Trypillian artifacts, ancient sculptures from the pre-Christian era, as well as Baroque-era gilt wood carvings, and works by Alexander Archipenko. Other officials attending the opening were Vasyl Vovkun, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ivan Vasyunyk, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Petro Yushchenko, parliamentarian and Chair of the Za Pomisnu Ukrainu organization, artists Dmytro Hnatiuk, Bohdan Stupka, and Oksana Bilozir, and other well-known political and cultural personalities.

Having acknowledged the important role played by CFU in drafting the text of Canada’s Holodomor recognition legislation, CFU’s representatives were also invited to contribute recommendations during an exclusive viewing of Ukraine’s proposed Holodomor Victims Memorial in Kyiv, which includes the Candle of Memory, Hall of Memory, and Wall of Memory. The Hall of Memory exhibit, whose design and content has yet to be finalised, is a circular subterranean structure, located beneath the Candle of Memory.

CFU representatives were also invited to address the opening meeting of the Ukrainian Social Services organization for Kyiv, chaired by Kyiv-based family medicine specialist, Dr. Ruslan Dobrovolskyi. The meeting discussed a number of pressing social issues affecting both seniors and youth in Ukraine. The discussion, with the participation of international development experts from Holland, examined possible cooperation with CFU on initiatives in the area of health services for the elderly, the development of palliative care facilities, youth counselling, and student scholarships.

CFU’s ongoing projects include the planned opening of a Canadian-sponsored library centre in Mykolayiv and support for Ukrainian education programs and youth scholarships in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.

CFU continue to maintain a strong partnership with the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine in Kyiv, the site of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Centre. With funding support from CFU, the Centre continues to provide research services for Ukraine’s legislators, cabinet officials, and their staff. This fall, CFU, in cooperation with Parliamentary Library staff, will once again fund a special project monitoring the political platforms of candidates running in Ukraine’s upcoming presidential election. The bilingual report will be distributed to foreign embassies, the OSCE, and other international organizations.

Lisa Shymko is a member of CFU and Director of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Centre