UCC Applauds Toronto District School Board for Recognizing Holodomor

Toronto – September 22, 2008 – At its meeting in August, the Toronto District School Board unanimously approved a motion to honour those who died during the Holodomor.

The Holodomor was an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people committed by the Soviet regime in 1932-33 resulting in millions of Ukrainians being systematically starved to death. The objective of the Holodomor was to destroy the Ukrainian national consciousness and to quash the aspirations of the Ukrainian people for independence, thereby eliminating a serious threat to the integrity of the Soviet Union.

In remembrance of this event, the Holodomor will now be recognized on the fourth Friday of November in all Toronto public schools starting this year. An additional motion, “to include the Holodomor in the curriculum and to develop the necessary resource materials for use beginning September 2009″, was brought forward to the Program and School Services Committee in Toronto on September 10th were it passed unanimously.

The following motion also passed unanimously, “That this guide and these materials be made available in every secondary school beginning in September 2009 and incorporated into the teaching of social studies courses that include the era of Western history {1930s} in which the Holodomor occurred”.

National UCC President, Paul Grod, stated “I am very pleased that the Toronto District School Board has heard the calls from its constituents and has taken this important first step. We are gratified to know that the Board will include Holodomor in its core genocide curriculum and support it with the necessary resource materials. Education is the key to preventing such atrocities in the future.” Mr. Grod also congratulated the Ukrainian Canadian Congress-Toronto Branch, “for their determined efforts in bringing this issue to the attention of their community and the Toronto District School Board.”

National Holodomor Awareness Week will take place November 16 – 22nd.

Donate to UCC’s National Holodomor Commemoration Campaign:

Donations can be made online at www.ucc.ca, at several Ukrainian Credit Unions throughout Canada, or by sending a cheque or money order to UCC Charitable and Educational Trust, 203-952 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2W 9Z9.

Donations greater than $25 will receive a charitable tax receipt.

For more information regarding the Holodomor please visit the UCC website listed below for sources and additional links.

UCC Media Contact
Darla Penner
Tel. (204) 942-4627
dpenner@ucc.ca
www.ucc.ca