Curkowskyj Foundation supports Internet encyclopedia

Ukrainian Weekly, The
01-12-2003
TORONTO - In the autumn of 1999, staff at the Toronto Office of the
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) initiated a project to
develop an Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU) as the most comprehensive
web-based resource in English on Ukraine and Ukrainians. This project was
conceived as a successor to the five-volume Encyclopedia of Ukraine
(University of Toronto Press, 1984-1993), a joint venture of the CIUS and
the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Western Europe that was generously
supported by the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (CFUS).

The IEU website was established in 2001. It is maintained and is being
expanded by a team of scholarly and technical editors at the CIUS Toronto
Office headed by Roman Senkus, managing editor, and Marko Stech, project
manager.

This immense learning resource is based on the contributions of hundreds of
dedicated specialists from around the world who have contributed to the
Entsyklopediia Ukrainoznavstva since the late 1940s and the Encyclopedia of
Ukraine since the late 1970s.

Owing to the complexity and labor-intensive nature of the work on the
Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine and its website
(www.encyclopediaofukraine.com), however, only a fraction of the vast body
of knowledge that will become available is currently accessible to Internet
users. Entries are being written, edited and updated daily. But the rate at
which information can be added to the site will depend greatly on the
availability of financial resources to engage additional qualified
editorial and web personnel to work on the project. Additional, ongoing
financial support from individual and organizational benefactors is crucial
if the project is to achieve its goal.

Earlier this year, the Rev. Marian and Dr. Roman Curkowskyj Foundation
signalled its support for the IEU project with a grant of $15,000. The
foundation considers the IEU to be of particular importance to Ukrainians
worldwide, and it encourages individuals and organizations, particularly in
Canada and the United States, to provide financial backing for this
historic undertaking. "We consider the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine to
be one of the most crucial undertakings in Ukrainian scholarship and
education," said Dr. Roman Curkowskyj, president of the foundation. "This
project fits well with the main goals and priorities of the Curkowskyj
Foundation," explained Christine Curkowskyj, the foundation's secretary.

Established in 1990 in Toronto and funded primarily by endowments from Dr.
Roman Curkowskyj and, more recently, Roman K. Inc., the Curkowskyj
Foundation has directed its resources toward supporting the advancement of
education and the study and writing of works in Ukrainian history. It has
established an endowment fund at the CFUS to encourage and promote higher
education and career mentorship for Ukrainian Canadian students; and it has
provided financial support for the construction of the Youth Center at the
St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto and for the Ukrainian
Canadian Care Center in Toronto.

The Curkowskyj Foundation has also been active in Ukraine: it has donated
books to educational institutions and libraries in Kyiv and Lviv; provided
scholarships to students attending the Greek-Catholic Lviv Theological
Academy and its successor, the Ukrainian Catholic University; and awarded
several publication grants.

The CIUS noted that benefactors are encouraged to create endowments
designated for the IEU project as a whole or for any area of study that
will be featured in the IEU. All donations will be gratefully acknowledged,
and receipts for tax purposes will be issued.

Donations (payable to CIUS - Encyclopedia of Ukraine) may be sent to:
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 450 Athabasca Hall, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E8, Canada.

For further information readers may call (780) 492-2972; fax (780)
492-2972; or e-mail cius@ualberta.ca.

Article copyright The Ukrainian Weekly.
V.LXX