Ukrainian World Congress Elects President and New Board of Directors

Canadian Paul Grod has been re-elected to lead the UWC for the next four years.

The Ukrainian World Congress, founded in New York City in 1967, is a non-profit organization of the Ukrainian diaspora.

It represents the interests of the over 20 million Ukrainians in the diaspora – uniting Ukrainian communities and organizations in over 60 countries and working to support Ukraine’s democracy and prosperity. 

The XII Ukrainian World Congress – which was chaired by past UWC President Eugene Czolij – was held on Oct. 22 in a hybrid in-person/online format, with over 300 delegates and guests from 30 countries attending.

During the meeting, Grod and the UWC leadership reported on their five-year tenor. 

Important religious and government officials extended greetings to the UWC via video, including the heads of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic churches, Ukraine’s prime minister, top diplomat, spymaster, and head of culture.

The notable figures included:

• Metropolitan Epiphanius, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
• Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
• Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba
• Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine
• Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandieiev and more.

The UWC First Vice President remains Stefan Romaniw (Australia), the newly elected World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO) President Jaroszlava Hartyányi (Hungary) became the Second Vice President, and Andriy Futey (US) became the Third Vice President. 

Also elected as Vice President from the European Congress of Ukrainians was Petro Rewko (Great Britain).  Anatoli Murha (US) 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. 

Other Topics of Interest

80th Anniversary of Deportation of Crimean Tatars Commemorated

President Zelensky led a commemoration ceremony in Kyiv for the victims at the site of a new Memorial Monument and noted the plight of Crimean Tatars today in Crimea under Russian occupation.

Ten regional Vice presidents were elected to strengthen the work of the global Ukrainian community:

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

Yuriy 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).

“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,” newly re-elected UWC President Paul Grod pledged.