Danylo Bodnar Visits

Montreal Ukrainian Festival

Montreal (UCC) - Newly appointed interim-chairperson of the UCC National Internment standing committee, Danylo Bodnar, visited the 14^th annual Ukrainian Montreal Festival held at Park de l’Ukraine in Rosemount on September 7.

A history teacher from Saskatchewan and a member of the UCC Saskatchewan Provincial Council, Danylo met with UCC Montreal internment committee members, listening to suggestions for future work based on the goals and “terms of reference” the UCC National Internment committee adopted. The Internment Committee is one of 16 various UCC national working committees focusing on specific issues of concern to the further development of the Ukrainian-Canadian community which also includes the Ukrainian School Committee, Arts, Holodomor Awareness, Holodomor Education, and others.

Every year, UCC Montreal with UCC National has an information table set-up at the Festival, meeting and speaking with the over 10,000 visitors. Taras Zalusky, executive director of UCC National in the Ottawa bureau, distributes materials about UCC National, including information about some of the central issues in UCC’s ongoing work such as awareness about the 80^th anniversary this year of the Holodomor/ Famine-Genocide of 1932-33 and awareness about Canada’s first national internment operations 1914-20, the majority being Ukrainians unjustly interned.

Organizers of Camp Spirit Lake Internment Interpretive Centre (CSLIC) in La Ferme, Quebec, also included information about its Centre, encouraging Festival visitors to come to its museum, which is open all year. The Spirit Lake Centre is doing outstanding work establishing outreach programs with elementary and secondary schools across Quebec, increasing the level of knowledge and understanding of the internment story among the general francophone and Anglophone population in various provinces.

President of the 2013 Montreal Ukrainian Festival this year was Christina Kozak, the UCC-Montreal Information Festival table was organized by UCC president, Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova and Cultural-Educational chairperson Bohdanna Hawryluk.

PHOTO

UCC Internment committee members at 2013 Montreal Ukrainian Festival Sept 7, L. to R.: Danylo Bodnar, UCC National Internment Interim-chair; Taras Zalusky, UCC National Executive Director, Ottawa bureau; Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova, UCC Montreal President and Vasyl Pawlowsky internment committee member