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U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Launches Biotechnology Website
By Matthew Popadiuk, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
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The home page of the new website, www.bioukraine.org. |
The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation has launched its new
BioUkraine
website. Through its Biotechnology Initiative, made possible through a generous financial gift from Ms. Irene Joseph, USUF aims to advance the state of biotech in Ukraine by fostering educational, research and business development in the sector and raising international awareness about biotech opportunities in Ukraine. The Foundation envisions providing support to Ukrainian students, researchers and entrepreneurs who wish to engage with the American biotech community through educational exchanges, attendance at conferences and participation in trade shows.
Ukraine at the Bio.org Trade Show in Philadelphia
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| VIP, John Kun of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation in attendance at the 2018 Bio.org Trade Show in Boston, MA. |
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The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Biotechnology Initiative will be sponsoring Booth #2638 at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's international convention being held
at Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Convention Center, June 3-6. Event organizers expect more than 16,000 attendees from around the globe to "gather for unparalleled partnering, education [and] networking" in the field of Biotechnology. Through it's Biotechnology Initiative the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation seeks to foster connections and partnerships between the Ukrainian and American biotech communities, including researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs and investors. "The key benefits of attending the 2019 BIO International Convention are access to global biotech and pharma leaders via BIO One-on-One Partnering, exposure to industry thought-leaders with over 500 education sessions at your fingertips, and unparalleled networking opportunities," event organizers say. Members of the USUF team attending the convention are VIPs, John A. Kun, Markian Bilynskyj and the initiative's director, Christina Redko. For information about how to register for the event
click here
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StrategEast
A Summary of the Think-Tank's Westernization Report on Ukraine
By Matthew Popadiuk, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
StrategEast, a strategic think-tank based in Washington, DC whose goal is to reinforce the values of rule of law and intellectual property protection in the 14 countries of the former Soviet Union, presented its westernization report on Capitol Hill on May 10. Their particular focus is to assist in the implementation of policies to enable said countries to realize the transition from natural resources-based to knowledge-driven economies. Of interest was the progress Ukraine is making toward achieving such an end.
StrategEast expressed positive views about Ukraine's development toward westernization based on the establishment of a High - Anti Corruption Court. In fact, because of this development, Ukraine scored in the top-half of StrategEast's westernization index of the 14 former Soviet Republics surveyed. However, a lot of work remains to be done.
Where Ukraine lost the most points was in its legal environment. Although Ukraine generally follows the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the World Justice Project 2016 Rule of Law Index ranked Ukraine only 78th
out of 113 countries. This primarily stems from Ukraine ranking very low in the index of public integrity due to the lack of judicial independence. Unfortunately, Ukraine's courts remain the leader in the public's distrust of the country's institutions, with less than 6% of its citizens expressing a vague optimism in the fairness of Ukraine's justice system.
However, experts did note that this court will be the final critical element in the country's independent anti-corruption infrastructure created after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Its creation, and even more so its successful launch and operation, underscores the process of Ukraine's westernization. This is a critical step, as western investors have repeatedly expressed unwillingness to enter Ukraine's market for fear of the pervasive corruption.
The high level of corruption has been considered the main obstacle in the path of Ukraine's transformation into a modern European state. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, in 2017 alone Ukraine lost approximately $1.1 billion due to high corruption - equal to about 2% of the country's GDP growth. Moreover, international partners such as the U.S. believe that the high level of corruption in Ukraine has also aided Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Overall, it is worth noting that in the five years following the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has adopted one of the most stringent anti-corruption laws in the world with passage of the High Anti-Corruption Court. Its launch is anticipated in mid-2019. Of note is that all these important judicial reforms were brought to fruition under guidance (and with pressure) from Ukraine's international partners, due to strict conditionality policies. StrategEast considers the court a strategic necessity for Ukraine, so that judicial reform is not relegated to the shadows. For it is such reform that will help achieve a situation where, not just the High Court but, all courts in Ukraine stand against corruption.
FOR THE STRATEGEAST REPORT (UKRAINE: PAGES 61-65):
CLICK HERE
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Kharkiv Music Fest Artistic Director Visits USUF
By Adrian Karmazyn, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Stanislav Khristenko, the Artistic Director of the
Kharkiv Music Fest
, an annual classical music festival held in Ukraine's "Second City," recently visited the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and shared information about this cultural extravaganza. This year's two-week-long festival, which began on March 23, included major traditional concerts (featuring Ukrainian and foreign artists) devoted to the music of Mozart and others, an Amadeus Camp for children, public lectures, opera flash mobs, a Kharkiv Music Forum discussion on music industry management and promotion, master classes conducted by leading Ukrainian and international performers, school visits, and the ArtPiano project which placed colorfully painted pianos at various public venues around the city for spontaneous performances by passers-by.
The Kharkiv Music Fest is becoming an important annual European event and has placed the city on the world's cultural map-at least that's the underlying goal of the project, according to its initiator, Mr. Khristenko. The Fest "for me, is an opportunity to prove that Kharkiv can become known worldwide as a place for culture and classical music," he says, adding that it provides the opportunity "to promote global and European culture - which classical music is - to the local community and, especially, the younger generation, which is very important at this historical moment for Ukraine."
Mr. Khristenko, an accomplished classical pianist on the international stage, is a native of Kharkiv and currently resides in the Washington, DC area. He has appeared as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Phoenix and Richmond Symphonies, National Orchestra of Belgium, Bilbao and Tenerife Symphony Orchestras, Liege Royal Philharmonic, Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, and Takamatsu Symphony Orchestra, among others. His performance highlights include solo recitals in Weill and Zankel Halls at Carnegie Hall, Schubert-Saal at Vienna Konzerthaus, Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, as well as performances with orchestras in Grosser Saal of The Berlin Philharmonie, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, and Hong Kong City Hall.
In an effort to promote classical music in his home-town, Stanislav Khristenko spearheaded a classical music festival in Kharkiv in 2017 held under the title of Mirror Stream, which included recognized classical performers from abroad, who were natives of Kharkiv. That initiative has now grown into the spectacular annual Kharkiv Music Fest. The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation has been a proud supporter of Stanislav's efforts to engage Kharkivites of all generations in the enjoyment and celebration of classical music, performed by great artists from Ukraine and from around the world, as well as aspiring local musicians and students.
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Rare Ukrainian dictionaries donated to the Library of Congress
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In the Great Hall of the Library of Congress (from left) are Regina Frackowiak, Grant Harris, Jurij Dobczansky, Liudmyla Mazuka and Svitlana Salamatova.
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Following a tour of the Library's Great Hall, they presented 15 Ukrainian dictionaries, totaling 22 volumes, to Grant Harris, chief of the European Division, Regina Frackowiak and Jurij Dobczansky. These volumes are reprints of dictionaries originally published in the 1920s during the period of Ukrainianization and subsequently banned. Five of these volumes were sponsored by the Kyiv-City Rotary Club. The other 10 were published by the Ukrainian Language Institute and the Institute of Encyclopedic Research, both of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Interestingly, the Library of Congress collection of some 900 Ukrainian dictionaries had ...
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The Current Wave: New breed of Ukrainian tech entrepreneurs
seek success in global markets (Part 5)
This series of articles shows how tech entrepreneurs living or born in Ukraine explore their motivations and dreams and also the many obstacles they face, striving to shape new products and services worldwide. A continuation of Part 4 of this series, the innovators in this group established their global companies and still manage and continue to grow them to this day. These "cultivators" faced many challenges taking their products to the US market and elsewhere outside Ukraine, but have experienced great success as they focused on long-term growth. These profiles of young risk-takers highlight their efforts to succeed on a global stage despite the odds stacked against them.
Ukrainians and Ukraine-born entrepreneurs are launching very successful global technology companies in greater numbers each year. Here are profiles of three who are changing the game in AI for CRM, cybersecurity, and home energy management.
Oleg Rogynskyy, CEO and Founder of People.ai
Oleg Rogynskyy was born in Dnipro, Ukraine, and his early education prepared him for a career abroad. "I was lucky to end up in an English-focused high school that showed me the possibility of studying abroad at foreign universities," said Oleg. He spent his last year of high school in the UK and later attended Boston University ...
CLICK to listen to a business podcast with Oleg Rogynskyy
Mike Buryk is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Advisory Board. For additional information, contact Mr. Buryk at:
mikeb@mburykassociates.com
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USAID Assistance for Ukraine Update
"USAID's Country Development Coopera-tion Strategy (CDCS) is based on the foundational demand expressed by Ukrainians during the Revolution of Dignity that they should live in an independent, democratic, prosperous, and healthy Ukraine united around core European values. Ukraine's commitment and capacity to progress towards self-reliance is hampered by an ongoing two-front war -- against Russia's full scale aggression on the one hand, and against its internal legacy of corruption on the other -- with deep consequences for the future of Europe, regional stability, and the United States, for whom a strong and free Europe is a cornerstone national security goal.
For the next five years, the Mission will focus on ensuring that Ukraine is more secure from the existential threats of corruption and Russia's aggression, and that its capacity and commitment to self-reliance is advanced through transformational sector reforms. Ukrainians see their country on a new path towards a European, self-reliant future. They demand an independent Ukraine not solely reliant on any single external actor; a democratic, accountable, and transparent government; a prosperous nation that invests in and mobilizes its rich human capital and private sector; and Ukrainians that are healthy, not held back from their innate potential. The core European values they demand refer not only to the European Union (EU) normative framework, but a broader recognition of the values of democracy, human rights, diversity, and inclusion. Lastly, a united Ukraine foresees that these opportunities, systems, and values are shared by all its citizens in their rich diversity and that Ukraine is territorially whole."
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Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute. Enrollment Open!
This summer's program by the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute (HUSI) will run for seven weeks beginning on Saturday, June 22, and ending on Saturday, August 10.
Courses include Ukrainian for Reading Knowledge which will be taught by Volodymyr Dibrova, a preceptor with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard... The second course, "State-Society Relations in Independent Ukraine," will be taught by Sophia Wilson, assistant professor of political science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville... Finally, Serhiy Bilenky of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto will offer the four-credit course "Tradition and Modernity in Ukraine in a Wider Imperial and Transnational Context," which will introduce students to the most important social, political and cultural issues facing modern Ukraine, from imperial to Soviet and post-Soviet times, primarily in urban settings.
The deadline for applying, including housing and full tuition payment, is Monday, May 20. Late registration will begin on Tuesday, May 21, and continues through Wednesday, June 19.
Further information about the program and the application process is available on the HUSI web site www.huri.harvard.edu/husi.html. Additional questions may be directed to Prof. Bilenky, HUSI program coordinator, at 647-687-4953 or
serh.bilenky@utoronto.ca
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SUPPORT THE U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION'S
2019 ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN
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