If astronauts seek to travel to new galaxies, then Larysa Ivshyna, the editor-in-chief of Ukraine’s newspaper Den, is a modern-day explorer who strives to open up new horizons in the information sphere.
Under her creative direction, Ukraine’s most prolific newspaper, Den, has been at the forefront of awakening Ukraine’s untapped intellectual potential. During her recent visit to Canada, at the invitation of the International Council in Support of Ukraine, Larysa Ivshyna was welcomed by her admirers from various academic and research institutions in Toronto – home of the largest Ukrainian community in Canada.
Ms. Ivshyna was invited to visit the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Resource Centre, which is located in Robarts Library, one of Canada’s largest libraries. The Jacyk Centre’s holdings include a reference collection of over 4,600 encyclopedias, historical atlases and chronologies, dictionaries, archival guides, bibliographies, biographical dictionaries, handbooks and directories; a selection of Russian- and Ukrainian-language video recordings; and bimonthly displays of selected new Slavic acquisitions. Since the Centre serves as a gateway to print and electronic resources available throughout the University of Toronto Libraries, Larysa Ivshyna’s meeting with the Centre’s reference specialist Wasyl Sydorenko, provided an opportunity to discuss information sharing between the Centre and the publication projects of the Den newspaper.
Likewise, Larysa Ivshyna visited the Ukrainian-Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, which collects, catalogues, and preserves material documenting the history, culture and contributions of Ukrainians throughout the world. As Oksana Zakydalska of the Documentation Centre explained, the Centre produces documentary films, prepares educational materials, and sponsors lectures, conferences and exhibits on various topics related to Ukrainian issues. The Centre produced the first award-winning multi-language documentary film on Ukraine’s famine-genocide, “Harvest of Despair” and the comprehensive World War II documentary “Between Hitler and Stalin.” The Centre also documents the oral history of survivors of Soviet repression and the Holodomor.
The largest Ukrainian-Canadian public meeting with Larysa Ivshyna took place on December 10 at a public lecture sponsored by the Ukrainian television program Forum TV, Radio “Mist”, Radio “Song of Ukraine” and the nespaper “Ukrainian Echo”, supported by Shevchenko Scientific Society of Canada and the Ukrainian-Canadian Research and Documentation Centre.
Larysa Ivshyna provided an insightful presentation on the challenges facing Ukrainian society and the need to lay the intellectual foundations to build a politically astute nation. Ivshyna provided an overview of the state-building efforts that began in the early 1990s and the regression that began to take hold during President Kuchma’s administration – a systemic degradation that Yushchenko failed to address, and from which Ukraine has yet to recover. Larysa Ivshyna emphasized: “The problem is that our moral leaders do not know much about our politics and our politicians know almost nothing about morality.” That is why it is necessary to nurture an educated nation, to encourage an educated and critical electorate. Only then will voters elect politicians who care about their public reputation. But this will only be possible if we foster a society that knows its history and respects its values.
That is why Larysa Ivshyna has dedicated herself to the realization of countless historical projects that help Ukrainians, and non-Ukrainians, re-discover Ukraine and its European roots. During her presentation to the public, Ivshyna outlined the multiple projects and publications that the Den newspaper has undertaken, in an effort to consolidate a contemporary society’s historic identity.
“Ukraine Incognita. Top 25” is one such masterful compilation, comprised of the most authoritative articles, and analyses related to key historical moments in Ukrainian history, from the dawn of the Kyivan state to the 21st century.
As part of the Den’s Library Series, Larysa Ivshyna also introduced the audience to one of its newest publications, “Return to Tsarhorod,” which seeks to shape the connection between modern Ukrainians and their ancestors. The book strives to help Ukrainians understand their true place in Europe and the world by fostering a spiritual renaissance rooted in our past.
One of the most impressive accomplishments of the Den newspaper library projects, is the three-volume set of books dedicated to the events leading up to the war in Ukraine. The series (comprised of “The Trap,” A Case without a Statute of Limitations”; “I am an Eyewitness. Notes from the Occupied Luhansk”; and “Catastrophe and Triumph. The Stories of Ukrainian Heroes”) is a comprehensive look at the political missteps emanating from the 1999 presidential elections, which culminated in the failed political system that enabled Russia to manipulate and then wage war against Ukraine.
Following the insightful public lecture and meetings with Larysa Ivshyna, the number of Ukrainian-Canadian subscribers to the newspaper Den and its unique library of books will no doubt rise dramatically, as Canadian readers seek these quality publications to nourish their minds and feed their souls.
Lesia Shymko holds a master’s degree in Political Science, is the founder of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Center and head of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women.
