Opinion: Why I'm ditching my comfy Canadian lifestyle for Ukraine

Posted On: June 13th, 2022
Posted In: Diverse Voices 
The 1950 picture 'memories of Batkivshchyna' or 'homeland' by the author's father, Bohdan Bociurkiw.

When traveling to Ukraine, among the essentials I pack is a small, rolled-up image my 'tato' (father) sketched in 1950 that he called 'memories of Batkivshchyna' or 'homeland.'

The picture of a quaint village was based on Bohdan Bociurkiw's memories of living in western Ukraine as a student and scholar, shortly after he left a refugee camp in Europe and migrated to Canada in 1947.

Read more @cnn

Michael Bociurkiw (@WorldAffairsPro) is a global affairs analyst. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is a regular contributor to CNN Opinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.

Explore the award-winning

UJE Timeline

Ukrainians and Jews have lived as neighbours for centuries, creating and sharing enduring cultures that continue to inform their identities today. Ukrainian Jewish Encounter (UJE) is proud to present Part 1 of an integrated narrative of these two peoples in the belief that there is much to be gained by viewing their historical experience together, in all its complexity.

As Ukraine defends its very existence against Russia, the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter Timeline serves to counter the malicious and false narratives about Ukraine and its history. The Timeline demonstrates that Ukraine is home to diverse peoples and, for centuries, one of the world’s oldest and largest Jewish communities.

 

Encounter: The Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Prize  

The 'Encounter' prize aims to build on the common experiences of Ukrainians and Jews over the centuries, expressed in literature and nonfiction. The Prize will be awarded annually to the most influential work in literature and nonfiction (in alternate years) that fosters Ukrainian-Jewish understanding, helping solidify Ukraine's place as a multi-ethnic society and giving truth to the motto, "Our stories are incomplete without each other."

Learn More

 

Download the complete 168-page book

A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter

FROM ANTIQUITY TO 1914

The goal of the richly illustrated catalogue is to present an integrated narrative that looks at the experience of these two peoples together, in all its complexity — through periods of crisis, as well as long stretches of normal co-existence and multifaceted cultural interaction from antiquity to 1914.

Download for desktop

Download for mobile

All-Ukrainian Children's
Drawing Competition
2021/2022

View catalogue

Learn More

© 2024 Ukrainian Jewish Encounter