Holodomor Commemorations – 2023

On Saturday, November 25 we encourage all Canadians to take a moment to remember the victims:

● At 19:32 (7:32 p.m.) local time pause for a moment of silence wherever one may be to honour the memory of the victims.

● Light a candle of remembrance in one’s home.

● Post photos of your candles on social media with your thoughts of remembrance.

● Request local churches to toll their bells at 19:32 in honour of the victims.

On Sunday, November 26:

● Memorial services will be celebrated in our Ukrainian parishes.

90th anniversary Awareness Campaign: A Pledge

The Ukrainian World Congress will be launching an awareness campaign in the form of a pledge. The goal is to engage as broad an audience as possible to show support for Ukraine while demonstrating the connection between current events and history.

The bilingual project description is attached to this memo.

• Media focus:
o Food as a weapon then and now
o Genocide then and now

Speaking notes on both issues will be made available on the UCC web site.

Engaging descendants of survivors

We Remember

The Ukrainian World Congress International Holodomor Coordinating Committee launched the Global Holodomor Descendants Network in fall 2020, followed by the launch of the Holodomor Descendants’ Network in Canada in spring 2021. The goal of the global network is to create a platform for communication, support, advocacy, and activism.

Attached to this memo is information from the Global Descendants Network on a project titled “We Remember” – an oral history project aimed at high-school students, in partnership
with the International Educational Coordinating Council of the Ukrainian World Congress and
Kontakt Next Gen.

The project is open to students in grades 8-12. Students are asked to record a 5-to 10-minute video interview with a descendant of a Holodomor survivor about the descendant’s memories.

For more information and to download the info packet, visit hdn.ukrainianworldcongress.org.

Grade 7 student Marianna Davoudian interviews Uliana Hlynchak, granddaughter of a
Holodomor survivor.

Short informational video about the project from Holodomor Descendants Network here.

Building the database

Every Canadian community and organization is encouraged to actively engage descendants in commemorations while building a database of individuals interested in participating and learning more about the Holodomor and the network itself.

Resource material

 You can hear the stories as told by descendants of Holodomor survivors as part of a project launched by the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre titled Children of Holodomor Survivors Speak. This is a great project to share with descendants in your community in promoting the network.