Holodomor Descendants Network Review

Holodomor Descendants' Network Our First Year in Review

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

’

It was one year ago, on the commemoration of the 87th Anniversary of the Holodomor, that the Ukrainian World Congress’ Committee for Holodomor Awareness launched the Holodomor Descendants' Network (HDN).

Work had begun on the creation of this network months earlier to create the strategic plan for the newly formed global network. And now, one year post launch, we look back with a sense of accomplishment for what has been achieved through the efforts of a very small dedicated work team, a growing network of descendants and supported by a global community of Ukrainians committed to ensuring that the truth about this genocide is known throughout the world.

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Regional Networks These two regional networks work locally to build awareness and contribute to the achievement of the goals of the global network.

November 2020

The United States Holodomor Descendants' Network was launched sponsored by the US Committee for Holodomor Awareness of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

April 2021

The Canadian Holodomor Descendants' Network was launched sponsored by the National Holodomor Awareness Committee of the Canadian Ukrainian Congress WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Partnership We are honored to have the following organizations become Partners with us:

The Holodomor Museum in Kyiv

The Institute of National Remembrance in Ukraine

The Holodomor Research and Education Consortium of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta

We were honored to have Pani Katerina Yushchenko, a Holodomor descendant herself and former First Lady of Ukraine, join our Network as our first Ambassador

The Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Internet presence NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

HDN WEBSITE April 2021

data up to November 2021

73

Registered descendats

8

Country of residency

85% 4.5К

THE CAPABILITY FOR DESCENDANTS TO REGISTER WITH THE NETWORK AS DESCENDANTS June 2021

9.1К

Happy to share their family stories Unique visitors Numbers of visitors

Countries of residency

Canada 48%

USA 23%

Ukraine 16%

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

A PERPETUAL VOICE FOR OUR FAMILIAL ACCOUNTS OF THE HOLODOMOR Expanding the work scope

A Perpetual Voice creation: Unique videos from descendants

Much work has been done by many organizations to capture eyewitness accounts of the Holodomor. We are committed to expanding that body of work by capturing the many familial accounts as relayed by descendants that have not been captured yet.

We have begun collecting videos from descendants relaying information about how their families were able to survive during the Holodomor and are now sharing these on our website. https://www.hdn.ukrainianworldcongress.org/

Professional approach Because this work is deemed as highly critical to preserving the national memory of our nation, we are currently in the planning phasing with our Partners, the National Institute of Remembrance in Ukraine and the Ukrainian, Research and Documentation Center, to conduct interviews with descendants using a consistent topic guide and conducted by professional interviewing staff. In this way, we believe that we will honor our families experiences and preserve their memory for future generations.

Descendants' video presentation at the 88th Anniversary of Commemoration of the Holodomor in Kyiv, Ukraine, 27 November, 2021

We expect initial results to be available for the 89th Anniversary of the Holodomor in 2022 WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Raise awareness among Descendants of the multigenerational effects of the Holodomor

The results of the Webinar from the Global Holodomor Descendants' Network "Holodomor and the Nation: Multigenerational Effects", 18 November 2021

Event performance:

Live:

166

366

Unique visitors

63

In record:

Sharings

1.8К Views

64.7К People reached

Main Webinar outputs: Brent Bezo, PhD and Professor of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa

«The Holodomor of 1932-1933, which claimed millions of lives of Ukrainians by forced starvation, still exerts substantial effects on generations born decades later. The intergenerational impacts seem to vary among Ukrainians living in Ukraine and Canada»

«Only when we understand and come to terms with our past will we be able to build our future. We, the children and grandchildren of Holodomor survivors, have a duty to tell their stories and ensure that this unspeakable tragedy of the Ukrainian nation is not forgotten»

Olya Soroka Chair, Global Holodomor Descendants’ Network

Kateryna Yushchenko, webinar moderator and Ambassador of the Holodomor Descendants' Network

«As descendants of Holodomor survivors, we have a unique opportunity to ensure that the suffering of our families is known so that no other nation ever suffers such a tragedy again. We have a moral obligation to share this history with the world. By uniting Holodomor Descendants globally, we will be the personal voice for our survivor families, and together we will memorialize the victims and raise awareness of the follow-on effects of the Holodomor on future generations»

Key issues: How has the Holodomor impacted the behaviors and norms of Ukrainians in Ukraine and in the diaspora?

What long-lasting psychological and physical followon effects have been noted in different generations (survivors and descendants)?

How has the Holodomor impacted the development of the Ukrainian nation?

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Remember and Honor the Millions of Victims of the Holodomor

November 2020 Ukrainian World Congress Holodomor Commemoration on the occasion of the 87th (remarks, prayers, candle lighting)

November 2021 88th Anniversary Commemoration of the Holodomor in Kyiv, Ukraine (short video of descendant familial accounts)

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Current Projects in Planning Phases:

DESCENDANT ORAL HISTORIES We are working with the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the Ukrainian Center for Research and Documentation on a plan to capture

Descendants’ Oral Histories of their families experiences during the Holodomor. In this was, we will contribute to preserving the familial histories and honor the memory of our family members who were fortunate to have survived. This project is in the planning phases with a preliminary goal of unveiling at the 2022 commemoration of the Holodomor in Kyiv. If you are a descendant or know a descendant who wants to share their familial accounts of their Holodomor experience please contact me.

HOLODOMOR ARTIFACTS We have begun discussions with the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv on how the HDN can assist them in collecting artifacts from the Holodomor period to be displayed in the Museum in Kyiv. More to come on this but if you or someone you know has any artifacts from the Holodomor that they might consider giving up to the Museum please contact me. We will be publishing more information about this in my Newsletter to be published this month on the one year anniversary of the launch of the Network.

VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM ARTICLE ( United States) Still working with Mychaylo to secure a Holodomor eyewitness to be interviewed along with a descendant for a project being conducted by the Victims of Communism Museum in Washington, DC. Awaiting final agreement from eyewitness via Mychaylo Sawkiw.

RIDNA SHKOLA Project We have verbal agreement with the Global Head of Ridna Shkola (aka Saturday Schools of Ukrainian Studies) to launch a projects with the children. Zina Gutmanis of our US Holodomor Committee will be heading that global project and we will be holding our initial planning session before the end of this year.

HOLODOMOR EFFECTS RESEARCH We will be working with Brent Bezo, a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, to identify Holodomor Descendants who grew up in the United States who would want to participate in his ongoing research on multigenerational effects of the Holodomor. 1st Half 2022 start.

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Holodomor Descendants Network's presence in Media and Conferences: May 2021 Interview for the newspaper "Istorychna Pravda" / «Історична Правда»

June 2021

Video Interview for the TVChannel "Contact" / "Контакт"

June 2021

November 2021

Audio Interview or the Radio program "Ukrainian Time" / «Український Час»

Interview for the Newspaper "Radio Svoboda" / «Радіо Свобода»

September 2021 The Chair and Ambassador of the Holodomor Descendants Network spoke at the International Conference on Genocide held in Kyiv, Ukraine in September 2021.

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Holodomor Descendants' Network Team

Olya Soroka, Chair, Holodomor Descendants' Network: As we approach the end of 2021, I would like to thank our team that has worked very hard this year to make all of the above possible: Olha Viazenko (New Zealand) Olha Domanska (UWC Ukraine) Cassian Soltykevych (Canada) Mariia Kupriianova (UWC Canada) Irka Mycak (UWC Canada)

I also thank the Ukrainian World Congress for their support and guidance, our Partners for their collaboration and I especially want to thank Pani Kateryna Yushchenko for her selfless commitment to and work on behalf of the Holodomor Descendants' Network.

Thank you to the many descendants who have joined our network, offered to add their efforts to continue our work and offered guidance and words of encouragement.

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG

Glory to Ukraine!

Eternal Memory to Holodomor Victims!

Olya Soroka Chair, Holodomor Descendants Network

If you are a descendant of a Holodomor survivor I invite you to join our Network to honor your families and contribute to our being the perpetual voice for our familial accounts of the Holodomor:

WWW.HDN.UKRAINIANWORLDCONGRESS.ORG