December 1: Day Of Ukraine Declared In Nation’s Capital Celebrating And Affirming Twenty Years Of Ukrainian Independence

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Ukraine 2020, an initiative of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation in Washington and the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy in Kyiv, is designed to support Ukraine's European integration which President Yanukovych has declared as a priority goal for Ukraine.

Ukraine 2020 has three important components – Policy Dialogue, Advancing Ukraine’s Image and Competitiveness, and People-to-People Exchanges.

The Ukraine 2020 - Policy Dialogue is a collaborative and integrated action plan that brings together government officials, public policy experts, business groups, non-profit organizations and individuals interested in Ukraine’s European future.

This Policy Dialogue program is modeled after the Foundation’s highly-successful U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue Project which was funded by the U.S. State Department in 2004-2006.... Similar to the previous project, Ukraine 2020 will also be comprised of Task Forces, namely: Business & Economics, Democracy & Governance, Education & Culture, Energy, Foreign Policy & National Security, and Information & Media.

The Task Forces will bring together experts from institutions throughout the world to share their expertise, provide regular commentary and undertake activities that support policy recommendations for Ukraine's European integration. By bringing together the work of these experts, most of whom are already working on Ukraine issues, a stronger cumulative impact in support of Ukraine’s direction toward European integration will occur.

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On December 1, 1991, more than 90 per cent of the people of Ukraine voted for Independence from the Former Soviet Union.

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Ukraine is the first nation in history to voluntarily rid itself of its huge nuclear weapon arsenal.

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"Joint Statement of the Second Session of the United States-Ukraine Partnership Commission." U.S. Department of State (July 3, 2010)

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Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski: Ukraine knows what to do to have EU-Ukraine summit on December 19, 2011 (Kyiv Post November 29, 2011)

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Image credits: Worldmap.com and via Wikipedia (Kyiv at dusk). Map is copyright controlled (c) 2011.