CUPP
Director Ihor Bardyn Keynote Speaker
at
UCC Montreal’s
Independence
Banquet
UCC; Sept. 5, 2013
(Montreal) The Montreal Ukrainian community held its annual Independence
Banquet marking the 22 anniversary of Ukraine’s renewed Independence on
Thursday, September 5 at the Ukrainian youth Centre. It was sponsored by the
Ukrainian Canadian Congress Montreal branch and Quebec Provincial Council. This year’s keynote speaker was Ihor Bardyn,
founder and director of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program (CUPP). He is also chairperson of Model Ukraine Conference,
a member of the Atlantic Council of Canada, and currently Ukrainian National
Federation’s national president.
The
banquet was officially opened by Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova, recently re-elected
president of UCC Montreal, who welcomed
the over 150 guests. In her opening remarks, she mentioned that this year’s
independence celebration coincides with the marking of the 80th
anniversary of the 1932-1933 famine-genocide in Soviet Ukraine and the 10th
Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) held this August in which over 500 delegates and
guests from around the world participated.
Guest
speaker Ihor Bardyn’s excellent presentation gave an overview of the work and
successes of the CUPP program which selects and gives an opportunity for gifted
students from Ukraine
to work in the Canadian Parliament with leading government leaders. They are
able to experience first hand how government works in an open and democratic
system. Mr. Bardyn also emphasized the
over 1000 year remarkable history of Ukraine as a nation, with its many
outstanding contributions to European and world history, including its
withstanding constant efforts to destroy Ukraine as an independent nation by
its occupiers and their use of ruthless and brutal policies toward the
population.
Also
speaking was Evhen Czolij, recently re-elected president of UWC in Lviv, who
gave a brief overview of UWC’s work, and also stressed the significance of Ukraine’s signing the Association Agreement regarding the
integration of Ukraine
in the European Union, a decision to be finalized this November in Vilnius.
Greetings
were also given by Arunas Staskevicius, the Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Montreal. Among other
head table guests were Sylvia Staskevicius, president of the Lithuanian
community of Montreal, Taras Zalusky, executive director of UCC National,
Marc-André Gadoury representing the mayor of Rosemount- La Petite-Patrie.
Opening prayer was said by The Very Rev. Wolodymyr Kouchnir of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church and closing prayer by The Very Rev. Roman Lahola of the
Ukrainian Catholic Church. The evenings
M.C. was masterly handled by Orest Humenny.
During
the banquet, the 2013 UCC-Montreal Centennial Student Scholarship Award was
presented to McGill University medical student Artem Luhovy for his outstanding
essay titled “Mass Education and Russification: Understanding Post-Soviet
Election Outcomes in Relation to Pre-Soviet Literacy Rates in Ukraine“. The evening’s special presentation was made
by Scholarship Committee head Bohdanna Hawryluk, who congratulated Artem for
his well-researched and original essay and wished him continued success in all
his work. The award is based on essay, academic achievement and involvement in
the community.
The
banquet dinner was interspersed by a cultural program organized by UCC cultural
chair Bohdanna Hawryluk which included singers Olia Lemeshko; Dominica, Anna and Yurij Konevych; as well as the Troyanda
Dance Ensemble under the direction of Bohdan Klymchuk.
The
independence banquet speeches were videotaped by Bohdan Klymchuk and will be
made available on the UCC Montreal web site: www.uccmontreal.org
Co-chairs
of the banquet were Bohdanna Hawryluk and Marika Putko assisted by many
volunteers including Andrij Dragan, Andrij Mazepa, Yurko Kulycky, Lina
Hawryliw, Olena and Oleksander Kulishov and others.
The
banquet was concluded with the singing of the national hymn “Shche Ne Vmerla
Ukrajina”.
PHOTO
L. to R.: His Excellency Arunas
Staskevicius, Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Montreal; Sylvia Staskevicius,
president, Lithuanian community of Montreal; Evhen Czolij, president Ukrainian
World Congress; keynote speaker Ihor Bardyn, founder/director of CUPP; Zorianna
Hrycenko-Luhova, president, UCC Montreal;
UCC Centennial Scholarship winner, McGill Medical student, Artem Luhovy; Bohdanna Klecor-Hawryluk,
cultural/educational chairperson, UCC Montreal