Congratulations to the our members who have been successful in their participation in the “2013 Holodomor Student Competition” commemorating the 80th anniversary of this genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
Please read the letter below from the The U.S.Holodomor Education Committee.
We encourage our members to actively participate in their local events commemorating this tragedy of the Ukrainian Nation.
Oksana Kulynych, Chair, U.S. Holodomor Education Committee
Longtime educator in the NYC Department of Education
The U.S.Holodomor Education Committee is a subcommittee of the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness 1932-33. Our mission is to promote awareness of the Holodomor and to educate the public about its impact and relevance to current events. Eighty years after this genocide, it still remains largely unknown among the American public, particularly in the American school system.
The Committee has been very active this year. A power point presentation and addendum titled “Holodomor Famine Genocide in Ukraine in 1932-1933” were developed. The power point, which is informative, visually engaging and teacher and student friendly, can be accessed at www.holodomorct.org, a recently updated website containing excellent resources.
Workshops titled “Learning from the Past: Holodomor-Famine Genocide in Ukraine” were presented for teachers in the YonkersPublic Schools and a workshop was held at the Northeast Regional Social Studies Conference. In addition, a presentation was made at the Ukrainian School Teachers Conference in Ellenville, NY, and an article was published in the NYS United Teachers magazine, which resulted in many inquiries from teachers regarding available resources to implement lessons in the classrooms. Members of the Committee were also presenters at the Holodomor Education Conference organized by Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) on May 10-12, 2012 in Toronto, Canada, where we were able to network and share resources and ideas on how best to implement the study of the Holodomor into the school systems.
The highlight of our work was a competition on the theme of the Holodomor. The Committee invited communities, their organizations and schools to participate in the 2012-2013 Holodomor Student Competition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of this genocide against the Ukrainian nation. The goal of the competition was to raise awareness about the Holodomor – Famine Genocide among our youth and encourage them to become ambassadors of Holodomor awareness in their American schools.
We are delighted to report that we received 60 submissions. Students were required to base their work on historical facts. Submissions were received in the following categories: Writing: Historical short fiction, historical research essay, newspaper article, newspaper editorial, poetry or interview / biography of a survivor. Web based projects: web based essay with visuals, web based graphic depiction, photo web based essay, multimedia presentation. Art: Original art work based on the Holodomor theme. Submissions were both in English and in Ukrainian.
The members of the judging committee included the following: Oksana Kulynych, Chair of the Holodomor Education Committee; Lidia Choma, a respected educator and chair of the CT Holodomor Awareness Committee, Lana Babij, a retired research librarian from the University of Connecticut and Dr. Maria Kiciuk, a former Ukrainian school principal. There were so many excellent submissions that the Committee had to deliberate for a long time in selecting the winners.
We would like to thank the following schools and organizations as well as many individuals for participating – Schools of Ukrainian Studies: Cleveland, OH, Hartford, CT, Parma, OH, Passaic, NJ, Self-Reliance NYC, NY. South Bound Brook, NJ, Yonkers, NY
Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM): Cleveland, Chicago, Hartford, Jersey City, New York, Palatine, Passaic, Philadelphia, Stamford, Whippany, Yonkers
We are very pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of the Holodomor Student Competition 2013
16-19 age group:
First place: $500.00
Andrew Drozd – School of Ukrainian Studies, Cleveland,OH
Orest Pyndus – School of Ukrainian Studies, Passaic, NJ
Second place: $300.00
Maxim Labunsky– Individual, Rego Park,NY
Danylo Lavrentovich – TarasShevchenkoSchool of Ukrainian Studies, Parma, OH
Third place: $100.00
Alysha Adams – Individual, Painted Post, NY
Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) Chicago, Ill
Honorable Mention:
Ivanna Klek – School of Ukrainian Studies, Cleveland, OH
Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM), Palatine, Ill
Alina Sydorenko – School of Ukrainian Studies, Yonkers, NY
12-15 age group:
First place: $500.00
Paul Yasnowski – Individual, Lordstown,OH
Second place: $300.00
Kalyna Leshchuk – Individual, East Hanover, NJ
Roxolana Sikyrynska, School of Ukrainian Studies, Yonkers, NY
Third place : $100.00
Yurij Holiat – School of Ukrainian Studies, Self-Reliance, NYC
Taisa Kulyk – TarasShevchenkoSchool of Ukrainian Studies, Parma, OH
Honorable Mention:
Kateryna Gakalo – St. Andrew’s UkrainianSchool, South Bound Brook, NJ
Sofia Polishchuk – Individual, Bayonne, NJ
Lesya Zappernick – School of Ukrainian Studies, Cleveland, OH
The awards are funded by the U.S Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness 1932-33. The prizes will be split among the winners. All participants will receive a certificate of participation. Congratulations!
Our goal is to build capacity in local communities to promote Holodomor awareness. We are looking for individuals who are interested in raising awareness about the Holodomor to join our group. Please contact Oksana Kulynych for more information.
