On 3 May 2007, three Ukrainian Canadian students began their summer internships on Parliament Hill. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress Parliamentary Internship Program was revived this year after a more than 10 year hiatus. The Program sees youth from across Canada work in the offices of Members of Parliament in Ottawa for three months. The aim of the Program is to allow young Ukrainian Canadians to become more informed about the workings of the federal political system. The interns will become important pars of the Members’ teams and will do a wide range of activities in support of the MPs work.
The UCC Youth Committee conducted a wide-ranging recruitment campaign to inform students of the Program. Over twenty applicants were reviewed and three were selected in the open competition. They are:
- Roman Dzioba (Ottawa), a graduate student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. Roman is working in the office of Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park);
- Oriana Masiuk (Edmonton), a graduate student at Carleton University’s Institute of European and Russian Studies. Oriana will be assisting in the office of Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre); and
- Oksana Zhovtulya (Montreal), a law student at the Université de Montréal. Oksana is working at the offices of MPs Peter Goldring (Edmonton East) and Leon Benoit (Vegreville-Wainwright).
UCC is very pleased to acknowledge the substantial gift of Dr. Anne Smigel of Winnipeg to the Program. Her financial support at a critical time allowed UCC to place three interns in Ottawa when only one position was planned for the initial year of the Program. UCC is grateful to the Members of Parliament and their staffs who enthusiastically assisted us in opening up their offices to the young UCC interns.
Preparations are already being made for the 2008 Program. Anyone who wishes to financially support this Program should contact the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
UCC Interns on Parliament Hill, Ottawa.
Left to right: Oriana Masiuk, Roman Dzioba and Oksana Zhovtulya
For more information please contact: UCC Media Contact |
