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XXXIІI Конвенція СУА 98 The past three years, from June 15, 2021, to March 20, 2024, my work as Chair of the UNWLA Cultural Affairs Committee has been incredibly rewarding, in large part thanks to the dedicated Soyuzianky with whom I have had the privilege of working in a field that has always been central to my mission in life: educating Americans about our Ukrainian history and cultural wealth. Adhering to my core responsibilities and recommendations from the UNWLA XXXII National Convention, I concentrated on initiating national projects that were intended for audiences beyond our Ukrainian communities as educational approaches for furthering understanding and appreciation of our Ukrainian cultural heritage. I initiated dialogues with cultural institutions in Ukraine on cooperative engagements, as well. I organized Zoom meetings with the cultural representatives from Regional Councils and Branches, outlining a proposed agenda for possible cultural programs to be presented in museums, libraries, and local institutions of learning, always emphasizing the need to reach and educate non-Ukrainian American audiences. When a “Calendar of Engagements” was presented to the National Board in December 2021, I informed my circle of cultural representatives of the decision to pursue the suggested cultural activities for every month, such as Christmas caroling in January; honoring Ukrainian heroines in February; pysanka festivals in April, and library displays on Ukrainian culture, with each month addressing different topics. The first international cooperative effort in Ukraine was with MIOK (International Institute of Education and Culture with Diaspora Relations) in August 2021 at the 20th International Online Festival of Ukrainian Culture. The festival was celebrated all over the world, as well as in Ukraine, held in Skadovsk, on the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. The city of Skadovsk is a southern outpost of Ukraine bordering the Black Sea, near Crimea. I was asked to suggest Ukrainian dance and vocal groups to participate in this festival, and to tape a greeting from the UNWLA, an organization which MIOK greatly admires. Just a few months later, the full-scale war began and this city was occupied by the russians. I contacted Oksana Pidsucha, Director, Diaspora Museum in Kyiv to cooperate on a display of UNWLA’s history for our upcoming 100th anniversary. With much interest, Ms. Pidsucha suggested creative ways to accomplish this. Unfortunately, this project had to be put on hold due to the intensification of russia’s war against Ukraine. With the intensification of war, UNWLA cultural efforts concentrated on the urgency of decolonizing our heritage in literature, music, and fine arts, after hundreds of years of cultural oppression by russian and Polish imperialisms and Soviet control. Much of our cultural history was falsified and negated. To counter disinformation about the Ukrainian arts, we embarked on a national decolonization project. With the help of a Ukrainian Global Scholars summer intern, Romana Mykhaileveych, we created a website toolkit for UNWLA members to easily navigate, locating various art forms and information on how to actively engage in decolonization efforts. Every Branch can choose a Ukrainian art form, promote it according to the instructions given to correct any falsifications. Supporting documentation is available in the toolkit and easily found on the UNWLA website. Before this toolkit was created, I sought the advice of several Ukrainian leaders in decolonization efforts, including art historians Oksana Semenik and Tetyana Filevska. Ms. Filevska of the Ukrainian Institute OKSANA PIASECKYJ, CHAIR UNWLA CULTURAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
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