PETRO JACYK EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
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PETRO JACYK EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION |
| Contents: Publishing and educational projects |
SPHERE OF ACTIVITY The Jacyk Foundation has been instrumental in the establishment of Ukrainian studies programs and scholarly centres at leading universities throughout North America and in Europe. As a result, these institutions now develop and implement research in Ukrainian studies, educate the next generation of scholars and professors in the field, produce important publications about Ukraine, its history, culture, and current international status, and organize scholarly conferences and educational programs about Ukraine for Western diplomats and businessmen. These activities, in turn, have visibly influenced world opinion about Ukraine and Ukrainians, as illustrated by the following examples: * In 1991, following the establishment of the Petro Jacyk Lectureship in Ukrainian Studies at the University of London, UK, the university organized an international conference entitled Ukraine and European Security. This conference attracted considerable attention from the British press and influenced the attitude of Western European countries toward the Ukrainian independence referendum of 1 December 1991. By demonstrating the importance of an independent Ukraine in the maintenance of European security, this conference contributed to the positive international recognition of Ukraine's independent statehood. * Although for decades the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York has been known as one of the world's leading academic institutions specializing in Soviet studies, the overwhelming majority of its research and educational programs nonetheless focused exclusively on Russian studies. Following the establishment of the Petro Jacyk Ukrainian Studies Program there, the Institute not only introduced new courses in Ukrainian language, literature, and history, but also became one of the organizers of a series of conferences: Peoples, Nations, Identities: The Russian-Ukrainian Encounter, which stimulated a lively discussion in the international press. The Toronto Star correspondent, Stephen Handelman, proclaimed to millions of Star readers that relations between Russia and Ukraine may be the most important factor in the determination of European security, and concluded that stable relations between these two nations will only be possible when Russia changes its imperialistic attitude toward Ukraine. Another concrete result of this conference was the dedication of an entire issue of the prestigious Harriman Review to Ukrainian-Russian relations, which made the conference's valuable materials available to international scholarly and political elites. * In 1996-97, when the Foundation organized a campaign to nominate President Leonid Kuchma for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work toward nuclear non-proliferation, the Foundation's nomination letter was co-signed by seven prominent professors representing prestigious universities in North America, Europe, and Japan. Subsequently, due to the Foundation's connections with academic institutions around the world, many other scholars and politicians lent their support to President Kuchma's nomination. The Jacyk Foundation is the only Ukrainian institution with the requisite infrastructure, prestige, and international reputation to effectuate such a campaign. The Foundation always strives for the most effective utilization of its resources. One of its primary strategies is the support of long-term or permanent academic programs which, after the allocation of seed money, become self-financed and continue to work and develop independently. During the first years of its activity, the Foundation contributed to the creation of such programs in the field of Ukrainian studies at Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Alberta, the University of Toronto, the University of London and the University of North London (UK). In 1989, with the aim of producing an English-language publication of a fundamental history of Ukraine, the Foundation established the Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies in Edmonton. The Centre is currently preparing a full English-language edition of M. Hrushevsky's History of Ukraine-Rus'--an undertaking which The Ukrainian Weekly called "the most ambitious and far-reaching scholarly project ever undertaken by Ukrainians on an international scale." This publication will serve as the scholarly basis for a new concept of Ukraine's place in world history, which, in turn, will shape a new international attitude toward Ukraine and Ukrainians. After the publication of History of Ukraine-Rus', the Foundation will organize a joint effort by several prominent historians to continue where Hrushevsky left off and give a fundamental analysis of Ukraine's history to date. The Foundation is already sponsoring preparatory work for this monumental undertaking at the Institute for Historical Research at Lviv University. The Jacyk Foundation also supports other projects contributing to the development of Ukrainian scholarship and learning in various disciplines and bringing beneficial results recognized outside of the Ukrainian community. Petro Jacyk was the most generous sponsor of "Åíöèêëîïåä³ÿ óêðà¿íîçíàâñòâà" (Encyclopedia of Ukraine) and played a key role in the process of establishing the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, the first internationally recognized centre of Ukrainian studies in the West. Furthermore, in order to provide resource materials for Ukrainian studies programs, the Foundation helped establish resource centres and library collections, such as the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Resource Centre and Petro Jacyk Microfilm Collection of Ukrainian Serials, at the University of Toronto Library. The Foundation also sponsored many smaller projects, such as the participation of Ukrainian physicians in international cancer research, the publication of psychiatric literature in Ukraine, and many others.
tel: (905) 238-0467, fax: (905) 625-8445 e-mail: pjef@istar.ca since April 27th 1999 |