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At Atena Pashko’s house. Sitting Atena Pashko, Oksana Sokolyk, Iryna Kurowyckyj, Lilia Hryhorowych; standing Ala Dobeluk, Jaroslawa Rubel, Myroslawa Fedak and Natalka Danylenko The President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, presented a very full report on the state of the nation. The President of the Ukrainian World Council, Dr. Askold Lozynsky, gave an accurate report on the help that the Western Diaspora has given to Ukraine during its ten years of independence. Mykhailo Horyn, president of the UWCC; Oksana Sokolyk, president of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations; Lilia Hryhorovych, president of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of Ukraine; and other dignitaries also addressed the audience. In the evening, Ukrainian Diaspora groups from eastern and western countries performed at the Palace. The performances lasted well into the night. It was interesting to see how Ukrainian culture has developed in different parts of the world. The following day’s Forum activities were held at the Institute of International Relations, Kyiv’s National University of Taras Shevchenko, and at assorted workshop venues. The plenary sessions continued on the third day. More people were able to speak to or simply greet the gathering. Through the intervention of Lilia Hryhorovych, I was able to say a few words. Unfortunately, the program chair stopped me after a couple of sentences. I thanked him and the audience, then left the room, followed by a group of reporters who asked that I finish what I started saying before I was so rudely interrupted. I was also invited to appear on a television program the following morning, where I was given the opportunity to talk about the UNWLA’s early years. With a front row seat at the plenary sessions, I was able to witness the manner in which the chair, Mykhailo Horyn, conducted his meeting. Men were permitted to speak at length without interruption; women were cut short or not permitted to comment at all. I had been forewarned of continuing gender discrimination in Ukraine. At the Forum, I was an eyewitness to it. During her presentation, WFUWO president Oksana Sokolyk stressed very strongly that women’s rights are human rights, which belong to both genders equally. Unfortunately, no one really heard her. At another point in the program, I witnessed another example of discrimination. Levko Lukianenko came to the podium, totally ignoring that a woman was about to speak. What he said did not bother me; indeed, it did not even register, while I witnessed how he behaved toward a woman. Then came the election of the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council. Mykhailo Horyn was reelected President. The two Diasporas and Ukraine presented lists of fifteen members from each group to be nominated for the slate. When Ukrainian women did not hear my name as Dr. Lozynsky read the list, they immediately wrote a letter of protest asking why the largest and oldest Diaspora organization was not on the slate. After the first meeting of the new UWCC executive committee, Ukraine realized that there were 16 members instead of 15. Members decided that instead of removing a name, they should add another, which would represent both Diasporas. And so, by chance, my name was proposed by the President of the UWC and accepted. The following day all the delegates departed from hotels to all parts of Ukraine. The government also paid for these trips. Unfortunately, I had to decline this wonderful offer because Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoliy Zlenko had invited us to a reception where several leaders of Ukrainian communities were to be presented with citations for their work. UWC President Askold Lozynsky, UWC Vice-president Maria Shkambara, and I were among those honored.
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