Activity of Ukrainian cultural and educational society “Kobzar” (city of Zagreb) in organization of life of diaspora in Croatia

Abstract

The article examines the public life of Ukrainians in Zagreb (Croatia) using the example of the activities of the Zagreb cultural-educational Society “Kobzar”, which for 50 years has been the main center for organizing diaspora events in the capital of Croatia and beyond. Over the years of its existence, it has conducted and continues to perform different kind of activities, to carry out their mission better – unification and preservation of ukrainian community in the Balkans. The society was created in 1972 and was named Zagreb cultural and educational Society of ruthenians and ukrainians, and in 2012 it changed its name to the Ukrainian cultural and educational Society “Kobzar” of Zagreb.

The analysis includes a number of materials from Slavko Burda's own archive, the current chairman of the Society, and an interview with him. The research also used reports and informational materials from diasporic periodicals, in particular from the magazines “Visnyk”, ”Nasha Gazeta”, “Nova Dumka” and others. Active public figures of the Ukrainian diaspora in Zagreb were published in the columns of this periodical: Slavko Burda, Serhiy Bura, K. Tlustenko, O. Filima, O. Maritynyuk and others. 50 years for a public organization is quite an important date to evaluate its activities. Over the years of its existence, UCES “Kobzar” withstood many difficult challenges, starting from organizational changes and ending with the military conditions in which it had to work in.

Despite all the difficulties, the Society managed to regularly hold already traditional and start new cultural events. The Society often held such events together with other national (Ukrainian and not only) minorities of the Republic of Croatia. A large share of the Society’s success depended on the activities of its president/chairman. For the last 30 years, UCES “Kobzar”" was headed by Mr. Slavko Burda. Thanks to his energetic nature, and most importantly, his desire to popularize the Ukrainian language, culture, and spirituality, the Society implemented dozens of new projects. Thanks to people like Slavko Burda, Ukrainians abroad remain Ukrainians, and the Ukrainian State has reliable defenders of its interests in the world in them.