XII UWC Congress elects President and new Board of Directors

On October 22, 2023, during the XІI Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), the President and Board of Directors were re-elected to lead the Ukrainian World Congress for the next four years. The Chairman of the XII Congress was the past UWC President Eugene Czolij. 

The XII Ukrainian World Congress was held in a hybrid format, with over 300 delegates and guests from 34 countries in attendance. During the meeting, UWC President Paul Grod and the UWC leadership reported on their five-year tenure. 

Greetings to the participants were given by notable figures, including His Beatitude Epifaniy, Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandieiev, Iryna Kluchkovska, Director of the International Institute for Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations of Lviv Polytechnic National University (IECDR), and more. 

The UWC First Vice President remains Stefan Romaniw (Australia); the newly elected WFUWO President Jaroszlava Hartyányi (Hungary) became the Second Vice President, and Andriy Futey (USA) became the Third Vice President. 

Also elected as Vice President from the European Congress of Ukrainians was Petro Rewko (Great Britain).  Anatoli Murha (USA) continues to serve as Vice President for Finance, and Zenon Potoczny (Canada) as Vice President for Operations. George Huculak (Canada) remains the Vice President for Development and Fundraising. 

The newly elected Board of Directors also includes: Former UWC President Eugene Czolij (Canada), SKUMO (World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations) President Alexandru Greceniuc (Romania), Roksolana Lozynskyj (USA), Michael Sawkiw (USA), President  of the European Congress of Ukrainians Bohdan Rajčinec (Czech Republic), Zenon Kowal (Belgium), World Congress of Ukrainian Students President Roman Grod (Сanada), Kateryna Argyrou (Australia), Vitório Sorotiuk (Brazil), Oksana Kuzyshyn (UCC), Chair of the Audit Committee Alexander Neprel (USA), Vice Chair of the Audit Committee Olena Paslawsky (USA), and Secretary of the Audit Committee Kvitka Semanyshyn (USA).

Ten regional Vice presidents will also strengthen the work of the global Ukrainian community:

Marta Farion – Vice President for North America (Canada, USA, Mexico)

Jorge Danylyshyn – Vice President for South and Central America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Central America) 

Volodymyr Kogutyak – Vice President for Western Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom) 

Mykola-Myroslav Petretskyi – Vice President for Eastern Europe (Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia)

Miroslav Hočak – Vice President for South Eastern Europe  (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia)

Roman Mykytenko – Vice President for Northern Europe  (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) 

Pavlo Sadokha – Vice President for Southern Europe  (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Portugal)

Yevheniy Semenov – Vice President, Middle East and Central Asia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan)

Dzvinka Kachur – Vice President for Africa (Egypt, Guinea, Mozambique, Tunisia, South Africa, Tunisia, South Africa and the entire African continent)

Nataliya Poshyvaylo-Towler – Vice President, Oceania and Asia (Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore).

The members of the Audit Committee/not on the Board of Directors are leading figures in the global Ukrainian community: Dr. Natalia Lishchyna (Canada), Jarema Polatajko (Australia), Taras Pidzamecky (Canada), Fedir Kurlak (UK), Oles Horodetskyy (Italy), and María Zinko (Argentina).

The Ukrainian World Congress presented awards for an exceptional contribution to the development of Ukrainian life in the diaspora and the development of Ukraine. 44 international organizations representatives received the St. Volodymyr the Great Medal in four categories.

During his speech to Congress, the re-elected UWC President outlined three key priorities for the UWC’s future – victory, post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and a strong Ukrainian world. Ukraine’s victory involves, among other things, support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the Unite with Ukraine initiative, advocacy for Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO, establishing a UN tribunal on Russian war crimes, and Russia’s economic and political isolation. Efforts for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine entail advancing the Energize Ukraine initiative, fostering recovery across all economic sectors, investing in Ukraine, and encouraging Ukrainians to return. Strong Ukrainian world centers on developing Ukrainian institutions and cohesive, politically impactful Ukrainian communities, summarized Paul Grod.

“I swear by my honor to serve the Ukrainian communities of the world to the best of my ability and ability and to faithfully fulfill the duties of President of the Ukrainian World Congress. May the Lord help me in this endeavor,” pledged UWC President Paul Grod.

The delegates ratified the RESOLUTIONS OF THE XII CONGRESS OF THE UWC.