Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

From UCCA’s Bylaws – Section I: Goals and Purpose

https://ucca.org/about/

1a. To coordinate and consolidate the development of organized Ukrainian life in the United States of America (USA) and strive to increase the importance and role of the Ukrainian American community in the civic and cultural life of the country.
1b. To represent the Ukrainian-American community and its desire to aid the people of Ukraine before the governmental structures of the United States of America.

2.To educate and disseminate information about Ukraine and its people and provide all possible means of support for an independent and democratic Ukrainian state.

3.To assist the Ukrainian people in attaining fair and honest treatment equal with other peoples, as an independent member of the family of sovereign nations. UCCA assists the development of open, honest, and transparent elections and the democratization of election processes in Ukraine, including the organizing of international Election Observation Missions.

4.To take part in providing appropriate and tangible assistance to the people of Ukraine through cooperation with Ukrainian charitable, private, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and their activities.

5.To assist, support and cooperate with the United States government in creating an equitable world order.

6.In order to accomplish its goals, UCCA shall:
a.Loyally cooperate with government authorities in their policies for the common good;
b.Establish a network of contacts throughout the country to assist in coordinating and corresponding with civic and religious organizations and institutions;
c.Publish relevant materials including press releases, journals, books, etc.;
d.Conduct an annual appeal for the Ukrainian National Fund (UNF).

Since 1940, UCCA has convened delegates from across the U.S. at its quadrennial "Congress of Ukrainians in America." These conventions elect an Executive Board to carry out the plans and directives agreed upon at the Congress, under the guidance of UCCA's National Council, the highest ruling body between conventions.

UCCA maintains local all-volunteer chapters across the United States, with a national office in New York City, as well as a Washington, D.C. bureau, the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS). In accordance with local statutes, UCCA bylaws and guidelines, dozens of local branches of UCCA are incorporated throughout the United States. They are charged with meeting the needs of both their dues-paying membership and the larger Ukrainian American community in which they operate, as well as identifying and promoting activities of specific interest to their members, and representing the Ukrainian American community in their given territory in the best possible way.

UCCA unites nearly 30 national Ukrainian American organizations under one umbrella body, UCCA's National Council, consisting of representatives of UCCA local branches, delegates of the main Ukrainian religious faiths in the United States, the Editor-in-Chief of “The Ukrainian Quarterly,” as well as fraternal, educational, youth, veteran, religious, cultural, social, and humanitarian organizations.

Both the Educational Council of UCCA - Шкільна Рада при УККА – and UCCA’s Council on Aid to Ukrainians (RODU) - Рада Оборони й Допомоги Українцям при УККА (РОДУ), function under the oversight of UCCA’s National Council. Founded on the initiative of UCCA’s Second Congress of Ukrainians in America in 1944, today the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC) - Злучений Український Американський Допомоговий Комітет (ЗУАДК/ЗУДАК), is an independently registered organization that continues to spearhead assistance for Ukrainian war victims and refugees on behalf of the Ukrainian American community as a member of UCCA’s National Council.

UCCA is a founding member of the Central and East European Coalition, which coordinates the efforts of national ethnic organizations representing 20 million Americans.

In 1967, UCCA collaborated with like-minded organizations to create the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), the largest international assembly of Ukrainian public organizations. Since 2003, UWC is a registered NGO in consultative status with the United Nations, where UCCA representatives attend weekly briefings and committee meetings on behalf of the worldwide Ukrainian diaspora of over 20 million people. As of the XI Ukrainian World Congress convention in 2018, the President of UCCA serves as the Third Vice President of UWC and UCCA's Executive Director serves as UWC's Regional Vice President for all Ukrainian Diaspora organizations in North America.

In 2022, UCCA co-sponsored/co-hosted a variety of virtual & in-person conferences covering a wide range of topics, including: the 14th annual US-Ukraine Security Dialogue in Washington, D.C.; an 80th Year Retrospective conference in NYC ‘The Ukrainian Experience in 1942”; the 23rd Annual D.C. Roundtable “Forging a Strong Yet Forbearing National Identity”; as well as, the 10th annual Report Card for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Quarterly, the nation's first English-language journal dedicated to Ukraine, commissions work from U.S. and international scholars, and provides an outlet for UCCA to advocate our issues by disseminating information directly to policy makers. Volume 1 of 2022 began with “War! Russia Invades Ukraine” and volume 4 ended the year with “Stand With Ukraine: President Zelenskyy Thanks Americans in Historic Address to Congress.”

Also in 2022, the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS), UCCA’s Washington, D.C.-based bureau, hosted two successful “Ukrainian Days” Advocacy Events in Washington, D.C., where everyday community members from across the United States traveled to our nation’s capital to continue advocate for continued bipartisan Congressional support for Ukraine.

Additionally, UCCA prepared and disseminated draft resolutions incorporating local recognition of the heroic events in Ukraine, for events surrounding
• the 31st anniversary of Ukraine’s renewed independence
• the 90th commemoration of the Holodomor of 1932-33 https://ucca.org/2022-holodomor-commemorations/
• and events marking one year of full-fledged military aggression in the ninth year of war against Ukraine https://ucca.org/24february2023/

As 2022 also marked the 80th year since the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), UCCA participated in the special Ukrainian National Committee organized by Ukrainian American representative organizations to present two special evenings in honor of Ukraine’s defenders.

• UCCA email alerts can be reviewed at: https://ucca.org/email-updates
• Advocacy Action alerts from the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS), UCCA’s Washington, D.C.-based bureau, can be reviewed at: https://ucca.org/unis
• Information for displaced Ukrainians in the United States is gathered at this link: https://ucca.org/welcome
• Links to UCCA member organization humanitarian funds and efforts by the Ukrainian World Congress can be found at: https://ucca.org/ukrainematters
• UCCA’s live webinars and hybrid conferences can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/@ukrainiancongresscommittee/streams