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Kateryna Yushchenko Takes Part in the Ukrainian Cooperative Movement Academic Conference Plenary Session within the Framework of the Ecumenical Social Week in Lviv

June 13, 2008, Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation Kateryna Yushchenko took part in a Ukrainian Cooperative Movement: Prospects for the Cooperative Movement in Ukraine from the Viewpoint of Public Policy Academic Conference plenary session, which took place in Lviv as part of the Ecumenical Social Week in Lviv.

In her speech Mrs. Kateryna rested upon the issue of charity as a component of a modern man with morals and values. “It is time in Ukraine for our churches and our believers to come together to find mutual understanding, to find common goals, to build on the basic moral principles that unite us all, and that indeed are a fundamental part of our heritage, to work together to create a society that reflects our values, that provides opportunity and justice, that involves individuals and the organizations they create in resolving the many problems of our community,” Mrs. Yushchenko said.

The changes taking place in our society in the recent years have changed the Ukrainians’ attitude towards charity. “We have seen a new understanding of philanthropy on the part of our wealthy,” Mrs. Kateryna said. “Also, growing corporate responsibility on the part of companies, and charity on the part of individuals and the groups they form.”

Mrs. Kateryna quoted a series of examples from the Ukraine 3000 Foundation’s experience, demonstrating high level of social responsibility in the Ukrainian community. In part, she mentioned the Children’s Hospital of the Future donators, Boards of Trustees of the Hospital to Hospital program member hospitals, and children taking part in the “Dobro pochynayetsia z tebe” [Doing Good Starts with You] program. “It is time for us to reinstitute our tradition of doing good in our country, to reinvigorate our pre-Soviet Christian values, and convey them to our youth.  It will give them confidence, it will give them meaning,” Mrs. Kateryna said.

Mrs. Kateryna dedicated a part of her speech to the role of church in instilling the will for philanthropy in people. She insisted that meetings like this Conference were extremely important, since they can teach very the clergy how to help their parishioners find salvation through their good works. “I hope that we can indeed plan follow up programs to this Ecumenical Week, where our various confessions can come together to learn from each other, to coordinate activities, to distribute responsibilities,” she said. Kateryna Yushchenko is certain that the church should teach the parishioners to act as responsible citizens. The state, in its turn, “needs to do what it can to encourage both the physical and moral health and education of its citizens”. Mrs. Kateryna also believes that the state has to revise its tax policy regarding the charities.

“The role of the church, and through it the family and individuals, is to encourage those moral values and traditions that are fundamental to our very nature, to our soul,” Mrs. Kateryna said in conclusion.

Among other speakers at the conference were acting head of the Lviv Oblast State Administration Mykola Kmit, Head of the Lviv Oblast Rada Myroslav Senyk, other representatives of the local authorities and religious organizations.

The Ecumenical Social Week is being held in Lviv June 9-15, 2008. Its main slogan is Help Your Neighbor!

The Ecumenical Social Week major goals:

• Joint actions by Christian and Jewish social organizations on the social level for the sake of the neighbor;
• Involving various types of social organizations into cooperation and studying the experience of Christian Churches’ religious communities;
• Presenting the Christian Churches’ social doctrine to the modern society;
• Presenting concrete solutions for policies in various levels;
• Involving the Christian youth into cooperation with social organizations.

During the Ecumenical Week, Christian churches and other religious communities in Lviv will call for social cooperation during their services. June 12 and 13, Lviv Oblast Rada will host the Ukrainian Cooperative Movement Academic conference. Workshops will be held at the Lviv City Council and National Lviv Polytechnic University with the participation of numerous guests from Ukraine, Europe, and the US. Also, a cultural ecumenical festival will be held on various Lviv spots, featuring performances, competitions, concerts, etc.