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STRONG
RESPONSIBLE
BRAVE
WORLD CONGRESS OF UKRAINIANS:
MULTIPLICATION OF EFFORT
WITH LIMITED RESOURCES
SERHIY KASYANCHUK
Director of the Ukrainian World Congress (WUC) representation in Ukraine,
a graduate of the School of Strategic Architects of the first and fourth sets
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Effective use of resources
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Complex solutions on a larger scale
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Another way of thinking
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Multiplication of efforts
THERE MUST BE VERY CLEAR COORDINATION AND UNITY TO REALLY BE HEARD.
I was born, grew up and studied in Ukraine, but life turned out so that I ended up in Canada and spent many years there. Canada taught me social life. Because there you have to preserve your identity, your faith and your language. Here it comes by itself, and there people must make efforts not to lose themselves as Ukrainians. Many in the diaspora have this desire, and it is the main force that compels them to act.
Canada is one of the main centers of the diaspora, where it is very structured, organized and where everyone can find their place. It is not surprising that there are many organizations. And the World Congress of Ukrainians is a superstructure. In general, the congress was created more than 50 years ago, and its main task was to unite different diasporas in different countries in order to represent and protect the interests of Ukrainians in the world. Each organization worked in its own country, but when we wanted to go together, for example, to governments, to international organizations, we had to speak with one voice so that we would be heard and taken into account.
With the beginning of the war, we felt a critical need for deeper cooperation with Ukraine. Then the congress decided to create a representative office here, and I was elected director. It is normal that every country helps its diaspora, but here we have worked in the reverse mode, that is, the diaspora began to help the country. Because there were resources and opportunities.
WE UNDERSTOOD THAT INTERACTION CANNOT BE SUPERFICIAL, THIS IS A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL, INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY OF THE COUNTRY.
When I arrived, the main task was to understand what the needs are and what we should focus our efforts on. We immediately began active cooperation with the government, parliament, and president, and we still have these constant connections. It was necessary to define very clearly the boundaries where we could be useful. We have to choose for ourselves the key global points that move the country forward. And focus your work on them.
At the Strategic Architect School, we tried to structure and systematize all this. After all, there are many directions and many partners, but there are not many resources. And so, in conditions of limited resources, we tried to balance as much as possible what we do on our own, what our partners do. It is very important not to repeat this work. If someone else is already doing it better than us, then we should cooperate with them and do it together.
WHEN YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT APPROACH, YOU CAN USE RESOURCES MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY.
Daily work is very time-consuming, and this was an opportunity to get away from the small things, stand aside and look, see our work from a different angle and rethink. This is extremely important. Because being inside, it is very difficult to make any changes.
Just the school gave a different way of thinking, at the level of values. It is difficult for an adult to force himself to think differently, see and do something differently. And it is very important that there is an opportunity to communicate and exchange experience with a group that includes businessmen, public figures, and government officials. These are different types of thinking, different approaches to solving problems, different experiences. It was a unique opportunity to understand, feel and help each other.
When a person, having gathered this experience and knowledge, can regroup his forces and skills, he reevaluates what seemed to be done on a completely different level. There are many opportunities for change and improvement. And this is not just an improvement, it is at the system level: there is a strategic idea here. So when it works globally, it really makes a huge difference to how things work.
UNDER SUCH COMPLEX CONDITIONS, THERE IS NO TIME TO THINK FOR A LONG TIME, IT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE EFFECTIVE DECISIONS.
So much, the whole world in front of you, and you only have 24 hours. And this was one of the questions with which I went to the Strategic Architect School. I have completed this program twice. It is easy to get lost in such a huge amount of problems, and you have to work through this experience, work through the tasks, to come to a clear structure and understanding of what to do now and in the future. It is a very lively process of rethinking. We continue to closely cooperate with the School.
Of course, the country's political and military support was and is key for us. A voice was needed at the international level, where Russia was spreading its informational influence. It was necessary to tell the truth. We gathered, invited politicians and influential people to hear and see. And then the governments got involved, and this is the most difficult mechanism. These are more complex solutions on a larger scale.
And it is very important to constantly work on it, not to get stuck, because life is constantly changing, and the situation, especially in Ukraine, is incredibly dynamic. We have to keep up with this dynamic, be flexible. open We see how quickly the situation changes, so it is very important to be in the center of communication and information, to react in time and in the right place.
NOW THE HISTORICAL MOMENT OF UNITING UKRAINIANS IN THE WORLD HAS REALLY COME.
Modern wars are no longer about tanks. Hybrid wars are information wars, when the fight is for consciousness. This is an extremely important line of work, where Russia invests billions of dollars annually. We don't have billions of dollars, but we do have millions of people — and that's fundamental. We see how influential Ukrainian diasporas are in the world.
For example, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the entire top of the world comes, thanks to joint efforts we made Ukrainian House. We have our own place where we can present our country. And we can enter new markets. In his inaugural speech, the president said: "We are 65 million." We have been saying this thesis for several years. Heard.
It is good that there is an opportunity to accumulate Ukrainian forces, when everyone is at their own level, when we can unite for the benefit of the country, especially at such a historical moment of formation. This is what we can multiply: direct the efforts of different people from different countries in the same direction.
WE
ARE
PROUD
LILIA HRYNEVYCH
Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine
SERGEY BADRITDINOV
CEO INTERTOP Ukraine
JULIA LYTVYNETS
Director of the National Art Museum of Ukraine