Ukrainian World Congress (Ukrainian: Світовий Конґрес Українців or СКУ) is a non-profit organization, nonpartisan association, international coordination assembly of all Ukrainian public organizations in diaspora. Originally founded in 1967 as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians, the organization was renamed in 1993 to its current name.

The UWC lists its main goals and objectives as: 1) to represent the interests of Ukrainians in the diaspora; 2) to coordinate an international network of member organizations that support and promote the Ukrainian national identity, spirit, language, culture and achievements of Ukrainians throughout the world; 3) to promote the civic development of Ukrainians in their countries of settlement, while fostering a positive attitude towards Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state; and 4) to defend the rights of Ukrainians, independently of their place of residence in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^{[citation needed]}

History

Originally founded in 1967 as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians, the organization was renamed in 1993 to its current name.

Since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the UWC has been helping Ukraine become the natural epicentre for Ukrainianism throughout the world for the benefit of Ukrainians both in Ukraine and abroad.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, the Ukrainian World Congress was recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.^[1]

The UWC has focused on such important issues as: the protection and defence of the human and national minority rights of Ukrainians; the international recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-33 as an act of genocide (now officially recognized by 16 countries); the democratization of Ukraine and its integration into the European Union; the strengthening of Ukraine as a state and the inviolability of its borders; election monitoring, including the UWC’s International Election Observation Mission to the 2012 Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine (the largest non-government sponsored mission of its kind); the social and economic issues surrounding the economic migration from Ukraine; the promotion of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine and the diaspora; the return to the Ukrainian community in Poland of the Ukrainian National Home in Przemyszl which was confiscated during the Operation Vistula (Akcja Wisla); and the global problem of human trafficking.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, the UWC has been actively promoting Ukraine's Euro-integration in meetings with high-ranking officials of the European Union. The UWC has called for the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement as early as 25 February 2013 during the EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels, Belgium.^{[citation needed]}

Leadership

The UWC has a president and an Executive Committee.^{[citation needed]}

13 UWC councils and committees work actively to address questions that define Ukrainian community life. These include human and civil rights, UN matters, awareness of the Holodomor in the international community, education, social services, youth, assistance to Ukrainian citizens living abroad, scholarly matters, culture, the fight against human trafficking, media, sport and the cooperative movement.^{[citation needed]}

List of presidents of the UCC

No.	President		Time in office	Related offices
1		Wasyl Kushnir [uk] (1893–1979)	1967–1969	President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (1940–1953, 1959–1971)[2] Chairman of the Pan-American Ukrainian Conference (1947–1967)
2		Joseph Lesawyer [uk] (1911–2006)	1953–1957	President of the Ukrainian National Association (1961–1978)
3		Antin Melnyk [uk] (1920–1997)	1971–1973	Member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists Head of the Society of Ukrainian Political Prisoners Head of the Central Representation of Ukrainian Emigrants in Germany (1964) Head of the Coordination Center of Ukrainian Central Institutions in Europe (1965–1979)
–		Wasyl Kushnir [uk] (1893–1979)	1973–1978	President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (1940–1953, 1959–1971)[2]
4		Mykola Plaviuk (1925–2012)	1978–1981	Member of the Ukrainian National Army, 2nd division (1945–1945) President of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada (1956–66) Vice-President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (1966–71) Leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (1981–2012) President of the Ukrainian People's Republic (in exile) (1989–1992)
5		Ivan Bazarko [uk] (1910–1989)	1981–1983	Member of the Ukrainian Central Committee [uk] Editor of Ukrainian News (1941) Editor of Sokal World (1941–1942) President of Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (1966–1980)
6		Peter Savaryn (1926–2017)	1983–1988	Member of the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia" (1944–1945)[3][4] President of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta[5] Co-founder of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies[5][6] Chancellor of the University of Alberta (1982–1986)[5][6]
7		Yuri Shymko (b. 1940)	1988–1993	Member of the Canadian Parliament (1978–1979)[7] Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament (1981–1987)[8] Member of the Canadian Federal Immigration and Refugee Board (1988–1993)[9] President of the International Council in Support of Ukraine (2013)
8		Dmytro Cipywnyk [uk] (1927–2003)	1993–1998	President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (1986–1991)[2] Member of the Union of Ukrainian Independents [uk]
9		Askold Lozynskyj [uk] (b. 1952)	1998–2008	President of the Ukrainian Student Organization (1973–1975) President of the Ukrainian-American Youth Association (1980–1989) President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (1992–2016)
10		Eugene Czolij (b. 1959)	2008–2018	President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (1998–2004)[2] President of Caisse populaire Desjardins Ukrainienne de Montréal (2006–2019) President of NGO «Ukraine-2050» (2019–present) Head of the International Observation Mission to Ukraine's 2019 Elections (2019)[10] Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Montreal (2020–present)[11]
11		Paul M. Grod	2018–present	President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (2008–2018)[2]

Member organizations

The congress has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 in New York City as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians.

European Congress of Ukrainians (Yaroslava Khortiani)

Others

Conventions

• I World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 12–19, 1967; New York City)
• II World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 1–4, 1973; Toronto)
• III World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 23–26, 1978; New York)
• IV World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 30 - December 4, 1983; Toronto)
• V World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 22–27, 1988; Toronto)
• VI World Congress of Free Ukrainians (November 2–7, 1993; Toronto)
• VII Ukrainian World Congress (December 2–7, 1998; Toronto)
• VIII Ukrainian World Congress (August 18–21, 2003; Kyiv)
• IX Ukrainian World Congress (August 20–22, 2008; Ukrainian House, Kyiv)
• X Ukrainian World Congress (August 20–22, 2013; Lviv Polytechnic, Lviv)
• XI Ukrainian World Congress (November 25–27, 2018; Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kyiv)