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(2 min)Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych's Opening Remarks (1 min)President Leonid Rudnytsky's Opening Remarks (7 min)President Romaniv's Introduction of Ambassador Yuri Scherbak (31 min)* * * Ambassador Yuri Scherbak's speech * * * (7 min)Ambassador Yuri Scherbak's closing remarks and awards

Today's proceedings took many of us by surprise when Ambassador Yuri Scherbak unexpectedly joined the conference. The Ambassador was to be the keynote speaker at the banquet which is to take place on Sunday, October 4, the second day of the anniversary celebration. The conference schedule was altered to accomodate the changes in the Ambassador's official itinerary, and the audience experienced a special treat as a result.

The Shevchenko Scientific Society prepared a birthday surprise for the Ambassador by inducting him as an official member of the Society today. The Ambassador's introductory remarks included the reading of a letter from Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma. Following his speech, the Ambassador in turn distributed special awards to honor the valuable contributions made to Ukraine and Ukrainian studies by several members of the Society.

The complete conference schedule is available at the Shevchenko Scientific Society website: http://www.brama.com/sss/. Those of you who were unable to attend today, are welcome to join the 2nd day's events. Who knows what other surprises may await you there!

The Ambassador's speech and introductions are available above. If you don't already have it, you must download the free version of Realplayer to listen to the tapes. Enjoy!

Above: Ambassador Yuri Scherbak proudly displays his official Shevchenko Scientific Society membership certificate.
	(l to r) Shevchenko Scientific Society President Leonid Rudnytsky, Vice-president Wolodymyr Stojko, Ambassador Yuri Scherbak.
	Shevchenko Scientific Society (Ukraine) President Oleh Romaniw.
	(l) Dr. Laryssa M.L.Zaleska Onyshkewych, Executive Vice-president of Shevchenko Scientific Society, organized the 3-day event and spoke about developments in the Ukrainian language in a historical context. (r) Dr. Anna Procyk's topic was historiography of Ukrainian pedagogy.
	(l) Dr. Kalynovich (r) Dr. Vasyl' Markus' spoke about Ukrainian studies in the political context.
	Svitlana Andrushkiw, NTSh-A Librarian, accepts an award for her husband, Dr. Roman Andrushkiw, presented by the Ambassador.
	(l to r) Dr. Marta Bohachevs'ka moderated the early session of today's conference; Tania Keis heads the NTSH-A library committee; Dr. Danylo Husar-Struk of the University of Toronto and President of NTSh-France.
	(l to r) Dr. Baranetsky, NTSh member and President of the Ukrainian Institute of America with Dr. Chohan.
	Dr. Rudnytsky and the Ambassador enjoy a relaxed moment during the break.