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This item is a recording from Banff conference of CEESSA

(Session #18): Chairman is [Andre] Tari
Only 2 sessions were allocated for the community topic
Mrs. Pelech talking about Sunday school
[Czartoryski?] talking about cultural heritage
Duska speaking about educational needs
Dudaravicius talking about identity

Dudaravicious’ presentation: identity as subjective sense of belonging in groups. Canadian identity is multiculturalism. Forcing immigrants to conform to the Anglo-Saxon or French identities., to forget their mother tongue and dances.

Mrs. Pelech: Saturday schools get grants. They are needed to preserve cultural group’s true history and provide information about it. Participants of those schools need pride and motivation. There are people-parasites who are not interested in anything except pleasures. Regular school and Saturday one compliment each other and does not compete. They teach respect to ethno-cultural heritage and be proud of it; they motivate youth for a healthy life outlook. Media and parents do not anymore encourage to learn. Edmonton school board is cooperative. Recommendation for the UofA to prepare teachers for language classes, especially in native languages. Languages should be compulsory at the university level.

Mr. Duska: Teaching our young people respect for their cultural heritage will help them respect other Canadians. We should keep children busy learning and off the streets. There is no single program at Canadian universities for Hungarian studies. Provincial governments refused to help. There was a suggestion to establish an endowment fund. Hungarians campaign to promote own language/culture at a university level.

Mr. [Czartoryski?], Executive Director of CEESSA, talking about maintaining cultural heritage. Academics, people with higher education have an obligation to go back to the communities and help with higher level of education. Academics are often accused by the community members. 30% of Alberta population are of East European background. Canadian schools struggle to develop in their students certain values.

Session 2:
Panelists: Dr. Chandler; Don [Benge] from Saskatchewan, Director of the Curriculum of the Edmonton Public School Board; Don Massey; Arthur Levin; Dean Lock; Mrs. Lobay

Dr. Chandler: Department of Education develops programs but does not build the books, about ethnic groups in particular. CEESSA’s objectives and the Department of Education’s objective can coincide and they can help each other with regards to the materials that are down to the level of the elementary children. The nature of multicultural education is beneficial and enriching for everyone. Opportunities in the curriculum for ethnic studies: good balance between Canadian studies and global studies, studies of the past and contemporary studies. Curriculum becomes more compulsory if certain goals are specifically identified. Tentative outline: grade 1 program about family should look at families of different ethnic backgrounds; grade 2 – groups that influence you. Should include what children should learn about various ethnic groups; grade 3 – communities; should take a look at communities with different ethnic cultures within Canada; grade 5 – Canada as a whole, should look at immigration and settlement in Canada; grade 7 – study of cultures in general, should look at native people in Canada and their relationship to the multicultural nature of Canada; grade 8 – study of developing nations in the World, should look at immigration policy of Canada; grade 10 – study of Canadian economic and political problems, should look at how multiculturalism adds to national unity. A Committee set up to develop materials for the program, and CEESSA should contact the Committee.

A motion to form a National Society

This item is a recording of the Annual General Meeting of CEESSA.
Electing the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary
Describing the functions of each position
Not holding any office for more than 2 years
Nomination for President: Mrs. Lobay – accepted the nomination
Nomination for Vice-President: Dr. Metro Galutsan – accepted the nomination
Nomination for Treasurer: Mr. Dudaravicius – accepted the nomination
Nomination for Secretary: Dr. Bela Biro – accepted the nomination, appointed by acclamation
Mr. Kostash – would rather go to the educational committee
Mr. Kuester – appointed to the publicity committee
The finance committee – Algis Dudaravicius
Nominating Chairman: Mr. Kostash
Nominating Committee: Mr. Spillios, Mr. [Yerevic], Mr. [?]
Mr. Priesley and Mr. Kostash will appoint their own respective committees
The Nominating Committee had to be appointed today in case of some emergency
May 3, 7:30 – next meeting
Meeting adjourned

Side B- a lesson in the Russian Language (exercise in translation)

This item is an audio file containing the very last moment of Mr. Schmid's address, applause , and Mr. Agust Osis- his common prayer concludes the conference of CEESSA of 1977.

This item is a recording of an interview conducted with Fred Zebrun, who immigrated to Canada in 1928 from the Province of Grodno, village of [Kruzhana]. About 700 people came from his village to Canada but they all spread out across Canada. He talks about the places he lived in Canada before eventually living in Calgary. He speaks a bit about the Russian speaking population in Calgary and the Russian Federation in Canada.

This item is an interview conducted on June 15, 1981. Veronica Whitfield interviewed Mr. Herklotz. Mer. Herklotz talks about his family, being in the Soviet Army in WWII, and coming to Canada in 1948 and learning English.

This item contains two recordings of interviews conducted in the summer of 1982 in Edmonton, AB. The first interview was conducted in English with Eugene Weber. Mr. Weber was born in Scott, SK in 1932 and the interview discusses the history of his family before and after his birth, and the importance of German community.

The second interview was conducted with Mr. and Mrs. Sommer in Polish, German and English. In the interview, they discuss Mr. Sommer's history of being born in Rivne (Volyn), where his mother also born. His grandfather worked as a basket maker, his father was a farmer in Volyn (Poland). The name of the village was [Maschk]. The father of Mrs. Sommer died after the WW1 and she grew up in another family. In the year 1914, when the WW1 started, Russians took all Germans from Volyn to Siberia. In the year 1916, at the age of 19 he was taken from Siberia to the Russian army. He had to fight at the Russo-Turkish war. In the year 1918, he came from the war to Kostanay after serving in the Russian army. In 1921 he came back to Volyn. His wife and him grew up in the same village and got married in 1923, first lived at her uncle´s place. His older brother lived in Canada and helped his brothers move there too. They came to Canada in June 1929. They came from Maschk to Rivne by train, came to Halifax from Danzig by ship. After they took the train to Edmonton and New Sarepta. After the arrival they stayed at the immigration camp. At the time of immigration they already had three children (born in 1924, 1926 and in 1928). Later they had one more baby (daughter) in Canada.

This item contains an interview with Zdzisław Jan Krywkowski, conducted in Stoney Plain, AB on April 19, 1977. The
How did he come to Canada during the war? He came completely legally, from Switzerland where he had been a student. He studied political sciences at the international labor office. Then he came to France, where the so-called 4. Polish division was formed. He never took part in any battle as there were not enough people. He embarked a ship close to Bordeaux in 1940 and arrived in Plymouth. He English were much friendlier than the French from whom the had received no information. As he spoke some English, he went around with a colonel called Koszałkowski Marian. Afterwards, they were brought to Glasgow, then they were living in tents. He spent the whole war in Britain, predominantly in Scotland. He joined the 1. Corps of the Polish Army (the 2. Corps was commanded by General Anders). Among his superiors were General Maćko, his direct superior was Karol Kraćkiewicz (or Kraśkiewicz). In 1944, the worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Jewish matters. They countered the propaganda (also in the English press) that all Poles are anti-Semites and that they are persecuting the Jews together with the Germans.
His parents remained in Poland, they spent the war there. He calls Włocławek his native city although he was born in Warsaw, but he spent only four years there. His mother was the headmaster of a large school in Włocławek, a former student of her (an ethnic German) warned her after the German invasion in Poland, and his parents relocated to Warsaw. His father spent a part of the war in Żarnów close to Opoczno, his native village. He recalls a family legend that his ancestors came from Ukraine during one of the Cossack uprisings.
Why did he come to Canada? In Scotland, he worked a teacher but his salary was meagre. He had three specialties: history, political science and economics. When he talks about his experiences as a school teacher, the interviewer asked him to switch to English as it will have to translate the interview. He continues in English: He wanted to work in a secondary school. He received an offer from Alberta. In Ontario, he would have had to study for a year at a university, and BC was slow to answer.