UNYF
and the Youth Factor
By
Taras Babyuk
One of the topics discussed at the
Ukrainian National Federation’s "Focus on the Future" conference on
We hear numerous stories
from past generations of UNYF members about how successful the organization was
during their youth. There were hundreds of members, big socials events being organized,
parties, trips and lectures about
In the November 3 issue
of the New Pathway there was a wonderful article by Ulana Plawuszczak
Pidzamecky about New Perspectives. It was run by UNYF members from the 1970s
until the 1990s, the latter being the period during which, according to the
article, the “number of UNYF of Canada branches and members had fallen
significantly.”
I often wonder what caused this dramatic
membership drainage during those years – was it because the youth had found
other hobbies for themselves or because the older members found it hard to keep
replenishing the organization with fresh ones? Possibly it was a combination of
both of these factors. But, in any case, that is the story of the past.
Our challenge today is to
try to revive the Ukrainian National Youth Federation. And, when I use the word
“challenge,” I mean it in the most literal sense.
One of the main issues
discussed at the conference–“Why is the youth today so hesitant to get involved
in the UNYF?”–is one of the most difficult to answer.
Several reasons to
explain the lack of youth involvement were put forward at the conference. The
first has to do with the circumstances of today’s lifestyle. Hardly any
institution today is within a walking distance from one’s home. The increasing
reliability on transportation makes it difficult and discourages people from
getting involved. Another obstacle, which I have often encountered from
personal experience, is that many teenagers lead very busy lives. For many, in
addition to school, extra-curricular activities and part-time jobs are routine.
Thus, they view their potential membership in the UNYF as an additional burden
to their already packed schedules. The second response given to the
aforementioned question was the fact that today in general there are simply
many fewer Ukrainian immigrants arriving to
To remedy the situation
and to increase youth involvement, a suggestion was made about bringing back
Dorist, an organization of youngsters and pre-teen children who would begin
their involvement in the Ukrainian community at an early age and then move on
to the UNYF once they reach their teens.
It should not be assumed,
based on the problems that the UNYF is facing in its attempt to renew itself
after a decade of inactivity, that the Ukrainian youth in
Some may see them as competition
to the UNYF. However, we should not see other youth organizations as
competitors as we are all working towards the same purpose. In addition, we can
find new UNYF members without specifically targeting other organizations’
members.
For now, the UNYF plans
to get more active in organizing social events and in promoting them. It also
hopes, in the future, to be able to cooperate with other Ukrainian youth
organizations throughout the country in order to unite our youth and to give it
a single voice.
Taras Babyuk is the
President, of the UNYF,