Something of a revival has happened to the youth of Perth this year. I suppose you could say it all began at the very beginning of this year (or should that be the very end of last year?) when all of a sudden, there were more things happening in the Perth Ukrainian community than ever before. We saw an influx of CYMivtsi from Sydney, here to perform a fantastic concert, many of whom then participated in the Krayovy CYM Tabir, which was held at our camp grounds at Lake Leschenaultia, near Chidlow.

Having so many Ukrainian youth in Perth is a rare occasion, since to make the trek from one side of the country to the other can be costly. However, the Perth youth regularly make it to events on the east coast for CYM, YFC, dancing concerts, malankas or whatever the event may be. We were happy to be rewarded with a good turnout here and happy to host them in our home town.

On one of the many late nights at Tabir, which were spent meeting and reminiscing with fellow Ukrainian youth from around Australia, some of the Perth youth lamented that their Ukrainian language skills were a little lacking. Being one of the smaller communities, there had only ever been Ukrainian School for grades 1 to 7 here in Perth. So of course, as with most things, we tended to fall out of regular practice and lost it. It didn't help that some of our grandparents would try to accommodate US by speaking in English, lessening our need to know how to speak our traditional language.

We all knew it. We just didn't know what to do about it. But two young and enterprising Perthians - Katrina Lozyk & John Karpewycz - decided to do something about it. They began canvassing the idea of having Ukrainian Language classes for those teens and older, who wanted to learn and improved their language skills. They found many people eager and willing to attend. They started speaking to people who would be able to teach us. They found Bohdan Mykytiuk.

Bohdan has always worked tirelessly with the youth of our community. His philosophy is that you have to invest in the youth, and they will repay you in the years to come by keeping our traditions and culture strong. He took on the job to teach us the Ukrainian language , and has kept us inspired and interested since.

We are currently in the second semester of the year. We are extending our conversational repertoire, as well as learning some Ukrainian songs. It's a great way to learn. The tunes have been burned into our subconscious from our youngest days when we heard them played by our parents. The words, sometimes we're sketchy on, but with the lyrics in front of us we can read and learn them easily, and then come to understand them.

We are currently in the second semester of the year. We are extending our conversational repertoire, as well as learning some Ukrainian songs. It's a great way to learn. The tunes have been burned into our subconscious from our youngest days when we heard them played by our parents. The words, sometimes we're sketchy on, but with the lyrics in front of us we can read and learn them easily, and then come to understand them.

We have already had our first performance, singing two songs at the Sviata Heroiv concert on May 30th: Khloptsi Pidemo and O Ukraino. It was wonderful to receive comments from people afterwards, and even to see some of the older people in the crowd singing along as well. I’m sure the smiles on their faces were at least in part due to seeing such vibrant youth soaking up the character and virtue of our proud Ukrainian culture - a culture which was one of the few things they were able to bring with them to this country when they first arrived.

Our next step will be to add a little pantomime to a Ukrainian classic - Z Syrom Pyrohy – and we plan to perform it at the next luncheon the youth organise. Those in Perth – stay tuned. Those who are over east, well I guess you’ll just have to wait until we do a tour.