US-Ukraine Business Council

1. "DISCOVER UKRAINE...THE UNEXPECTED" EXHIBIT AT NYC TRAVEL SHOW
Organized by U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), co-sponsored by U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, and the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S.

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)
Washington, D.C., Fri, Feb 6, 2009

1. "DISCOVER UKRAINE..THE UNEXPECTED" EXHIBIT AT NYC TRAVEL SHOW
Organized by U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), co-sponsored by U.S.-Ukraine Business
Council (USUBC), AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, and the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S.

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., Fri, Feb 6, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - For the first time ever, Ukraine will be represented at the sixth annual New York Times Travel Show being held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, NY, Friday-Sunday, February 6-8, 2009.
The "DISCOVER UKRAINE...THE UNEXPECTED" travel exhibit, created by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) especially for this travel show, will be on display. The exhibit is part of an ongoing program the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), Washington, D.C., (www.usukraine.org), and the Government of Ukraine have started recently to increase the promotion of travel to Ukraine. USUF has been promoting travel to Ukraine for sometime as part of its ongoing program and created the TRAVEL TO UKRAINE website, www.TravelToUkraine.org website.

THREE MAJOR CO-SPONSORS
There are three major co-sponsors of the Ukraine travel exhibit at The New York Times Travel Show. They are the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C. (www.usubc.org); AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, Kyiv, Ukraine with a sales office in New York City, (http://www.aerosvit.ca/e_us.html); and the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., Washington, D.C. (http://www.mfa.gov.ua/usa/en).

In the Ukraine exhibit created by USUF there are three large beautiful color panels showing many outstanding tourism scenes from Ukraine. The theme of the exhibit is DISCOVER UKRAINE...THE UNEXPECTED:

     FIND yourself in a most remarkable historically rich-place - the cradle of civilization dating back to the Typillian era of 5,000-2750 B. C.
     REDISCOVER the crossroads the ancients traveled through this beautiful and diverse land.
     ENJOY the hospitality of the people of Ukraine ready to share their rich culture.
     EXPERIENCE the vitality of modern Ukraine on the panorama of history.
     DO THE UNEXPECTED......Discover Ukraine!
     FIND YOURSELF THERE!

A 24 page Travel to Ukraine booklet will be passed out along with a special DISCOVER UKRAINE brochure. A Ukraine tourism video will also be shown. Nadia K. McConnell, president of USUF; Andrew Evans, author of "Ukraine, 2nd, The Brant Travel Guide" (http://www.amazon.com/Ukraine-2nd-Bradt-Travel-Guide/dp/1841621811); Oleksiy Synelnychenko, creator of the USUF sponsored website TRAVEL TO UKRAINE, www.traveltoukraine.org, John Kun, USUF Vice President/COO and others will be on hand to greet visitors to the Ukraine exhibit.

LARGEST CONSUMER AND TRADE TRAVEL EVENT OF ITS KIND IN THE U.S.
The New York Times Travel show is the largest consumer and trade travel event of its kind in the U.S. featuring different regions of the world including Africa, Asia, Australia/South Pacific, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Mexico, South America and the United States.

The Travel Show will feature nearly 500 exhibitors representing over 100 countries and will focus on travel destinations, packages and special offers, as well as tour operators, cruise lines and live entertainment for the whole family, visit http://www.nytimes.com/travelshow.

The event showcases the variety of travel and vacation opportunities for consumers of all types: those traveling solo, as a couple, without children or taking the whole family; those looking for budget vs. luxury trips; and those looking for relaxation and wellness trips or for adventure travel.

USUBC MEMBER TRAVEL SERVICES TO UKRAINE
In addition to U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) members, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) and AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, two additional USUBC members promote and provide travel services to Ukraine, according to Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group (www.SigmaBleyzer.com), who serves as President of USUBC.

"They are the Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA), Kyiv, Ukraine, with offices in the USA, (http://www.flyuia.com) and the Dunwoodie Travel Bureau (www.DunwoodieTravel.com), Alesia Kozicky, Owner/Travel Agent. Yonkers, N.Y. USUBC and its over 100 corporate and organizational members are proud to support the Travel-To-Ukraine program and the special exhibit in NYC, " Williams said, "The present travel exhibit in NYC is just the first of several more Ukraine travel projects planned during 2009."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

2. TWO "TREASURES OF UKRAINE" EXHIBITIONS TO THE USA
Treasures of Ukraine from the PLATAR Collection and Ukrainian Icons and Religious
Objects from the National Kyiv-Perchersk (Lavra) Historic and Cultural Preserve

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., Fri, Feb 6, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Foundation for International Arts and Education (FIAE), in cooperation with the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), and with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., will be presenting two outstanding Ukrainian exhibitions featuring historic 'TREASURES OF UKRAINE' in a number of American museums during the period from 2010 to 2012.

Dr. Gregory Guroff, President of The Foundation for International Arts and Education (FIAE), Bethesda, MD, (www.FIAE.org), Dr. Oleh Shamshur,
Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Washington, D.C. (http://www.mfa.gov.ua/usa/en), and Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group, who serves as President of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C.(www.usubc.org), have been working on this project for over nine months.

FIAE, USUBC and the Embassy of Ukraine are pleased that the PLATAR Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine, has agreed to cooperate in the production of the two major Ukrainian exhibitions in the USA. The following letter has been received by Dr. Gregory Guroff, President of FIAE, from the PLATAR Foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine:

MUSEUM OF NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
PLATAR

January 27, 2009

Gregory Guroff, President
The Foundation for Arts & Education
4630 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 210
Bethesda, MD 20814, USA

This letter is to confirm our understanding that the PLATAR Foundation has an exclusive agreement to with FIAE to produce two major Ukrainian exhibitions: Ukraine to the World (Treasures of Ukraine from the PLATAR Collection), Ukrainian Icons and Religious Objects from the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra (National Kyiv - Perchersk (Lavra) Historic and Cultural Preserve) and other collections, XI-XIX centuries. The two parties plan to present these
Exhibits in a number of American museums between 2010 and 2012.

M. Zhlukto
Director General
Museum of National Cultural Heritage
PLATAR
Kyiv, Ukraine

Dr. Gregory Guroff and representatives of several major U.S. museums will travel to Ukraine the last week of March to meet with representatives of the PLATAR Foundation and the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra. They will view many of the historic treasures of Ukraine that are being proposed for the two exhibitions in the USA.

Dr. Deborah Taylor, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, who is an outstanding scholar in religious history and an expert in religious objects and art, has been assisting with this cultural and arts exhibition program. Additional information about the FIAE Ukrainian Icons and Religious Objects program can be found at: http://www.fiae.org/Ukrainian%20Icons.html.

UKRAINE IN POLAND: UKRAINIAN TREASURE-TROVE
Historical items from the PLATAR collection in Ukraine were on exhibition in Warsaw, Poland in 2008. The Warsaw Voice newspaper wrote this about the exhibition on May 14, 2008:

"WARSAW - The National Museum in Warsaw is hosting an exhibition until June 29 devoted to the fascinating archeological past of Ukraine. The exhibition is entitled "From Ukraine to the World: Ukrainian Treasures from the Platar Collection," and its patrons are the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, Lech Kaczyński and Viktor Yushchenko.

The exhibition consists of outstanding works of art from a private collection of around 400 artifacts dating from between the fourth millennium B.C. and the 12th century. This is the first time they are being shown outside Ukraine.

Research shows that 8,000 years ago, a unique culture developed in what is Ukraine today. The exhibition documents all major periods of the history of Ukraine, from the early Neolithic to magnificent works of art that resulted from close relations between Kiev Ruthenia and the Byzantine Empire.

Since the Scythian Gold exhibition from the Hermitage Museum in 1976, visitors to the National Museum have not seen such an extensive display of the accomplishments of the most famous ancient goldsmiths." (Link: http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/17843).

Articles from the Welcome to Ukraine magazine about the PLATAR collection can be read at; http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/index2.php?param=pgs20053/36
and at http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/index2.php?param=pgs20071/86.

THE FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTS & EDUCATION
The Foundation for International Arts & Education (FIAE) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the Foundation was created to help protect and preserve the historical and cultural legacy of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Through its Arts & Exhibitions Program, the Foundation organizes and manages art exhibitions at venues throughout the United States. A portion of the proceeds of these exhibitions goes to foreign lending museums in order to directly contribute to the preservation of these priceless world treasures.

The Foundation for International Arts & Education (FIAE) was created with a set of very explicit goals and principles:

      Preservation and protection of artistic and cultural legacies;
      Presentation of first-rate art exhibitions;
      Adherence to the highest artistic standards in determining the contents and themes of these exhibitions;
      Protection of the dignity and reputation of the institutions whose artifacts are presented;
      Involvement of the local host communities in all aspects of planning exhibitions, cultural events and research projects;
      Assurance that quality educational programs are developed and presented throughout the exhibition’s showing in each US community;
      Support of substantive research and analysis; and
      Development and creation of long-term professional relations.

The Foundation's Board of Directors is chaired by Ambassador Arthur Hartman, former Ambassador to France and to the Soviet Union. FIAE's President is Dr. Greg Guroff, university professor, diplomat, and former Director of the President's U.S.-Soviet Exchange Initiative. FIAI'S board of directors includes:
Ambassador Arthur Hartman, Chairman; David Kenney, Treasurer; Sarah Carey, Edward C. Chow, Thomas G. Gherardi, Michael Johnson, Montgomery Lewis, Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky, Elizabeth Malott Pohle, Ambassador Joseph A. Presel and Marilyn Pfeifer Swezey. (www.fiae.org)