A meeting was held in Washington, D.C., with representatives of the Ukrainian community and the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna, at the Saint Gabriel Institute. The meeting was dedicated to discussing issues of advocacy for Ukraine, countering Russian disinformation, and reporting the truth about the war and Russian war crimes.
This was reported by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna.
“The Saint Gabriel Institute in Washington talked with representatives of the Ukrainian community, for whom Ukraine is a personal responsibility and daily work,” the report says.
As reported, during the meeting, which was moderated by the head of the Washington branch of the Union of Ukrainian Women of America, Irena Chalupa, the parties discussed how to more effectively report the truth about Russian aggression, war crimes, and how to strengthen advocacy in support of Ukraine in the United States.
“We talked about how to convey the truth about the Russian war, war crimes; how to make advocacy in support of Ukraine more effective and how to counteract Russian disinformation,” Olga Stefanishyna noted.
Special attention was paid to the activities of the Saint Gabriel Institute as a space for the formation of spiritual diplomacy. According to the ambassador, the institute is an important platform for training representatives of church and public circles for international communication.
“Separately, we discussed the activities of the Saint Gabriel Institute - a space where spiritual diplomacy is formed,” the post notes.
In particular, it is specified that within the framework of the Program on Church Communication and Diplomacy, launched by the Ukrainian Catholic University together with the UGCC, clergy and laity undergo intensive training in Washington in order to defend the interests of Ukraine in the international arena.
“Thanks to the Church Communication and Diplomacy Program… clergy and laity undergo intensive training in Washington to advocate for Ukraine’s interests in the international arena through the prism of spiritual diplomacy,” the ambassador noted.
Summing up the meeting, Olga Stefanishyna emphasized the importance of the unity of Ukrainians abroad.
Earlier, Vilni Media reportedthat Ukrainian communities in the United States expressed indignation at the selective invitation to meetings with Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna.
The scandal erupted after Stefanishyna, as the newly appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, held her first online meeting with leaders of the Ukrainian community, heads of consular institutions, and honorary consuls of Ukraine in the United States. However, on social networks, the event immediately caused a wave of indignation among active Ukrainian organizations in the United States, who stated that they had not received any invitation and learned about the meeting only after the fact.
The situation has sparked a debate about the transparency of the selection of participants, the lack of public announcement of such events, and the interaction between the authorities and the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States.
Photo: Olga Stefanishyna's Facebook page
Author: Inna Mikhno