Discussion on Governance and the Role of Civil Society

Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 24, 2009

Here we are in one of Ukraine’s oldest learning institutions.

And it is in the heart of its library, which withstood the tumultuous years of the Soviet regime, that we will open the door to a dialogue between us.

Our discussion will resonate within the walls of this institution that has become a vibrant symbol of resistance against anything that would seek to restrict thought and stifle expression.

While Ukraine is a young democracy, whose roots reach back through centuries of history, Canada is a young country whose democratic tradition is nonetheless one of the oldest.

I think it is safe to say that we have much to learn from one another’s experience.

In the early 1990s, you began a very demanding political and economic reform.

We know the full measure of courage and determination it took for you to undertake this transition toward democracy and a market economy. In fact, Canada was the first country to support the hope for democracy that Ukraine embodies.

And it is in the name of that hope that we have come on this four-day visit to your country. And from Kyiv we will go to Lviv.

Ukraine has known independence for a relatively short period of time and now finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented economic storm that is gripping the entire world, hitting emerging economies like yours the hardest.

This crisis has serious consequences, not just financial, but human and social as well.

It would be easy to give in to feelings of powerlessness and to withdraw into ourselves.

And that is precisely the danger before us, at a time when it is more important than ever that we work together and adopt a global approach, one focussed on solidarity, in light of the challenges we are all facing.

When put to the test, Ukrainian society demonstrated its ability to come together for the good of all and to triumph over the forces of destruction.

In the last century, you were confronted with many obstacles, including famine, Nazism and the iron grip of the Soviet Union.

You are fighters and know better than anyone that profound and lasting change can only come about from citizens who take control of their own destiny.

Citizens who pool their efforts, strengths and ideas with those of others to improve their life and the lives of those around them.

Since you began the democratization process, Canada has supported your efforts to ensure good governance and to bolster every aspect of civil society.

We have come to applaud those efforts and to tell you that we must never give up.

Because each of you who is involved in civic life is our greatest promise for the future in these uncertain times.

The renaissance of the bastion of free thought that is the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy reminds the rest of the world that Ukraine has not yet had its final say.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. The floor is yours.