In a recent letter to the prime minister, the president of Ukraine expressed concern over the lack of contacts with Ukrainian organizations abroad and urged the Cabinet of Ministers to step up cooperation work with the Ukrainian diaspora. However, there are numerous charitable foundations and organizations all over the world established by foreign citizens who are not indifferent to the future of our country. Their mission is to provide assistance for free or at reduced prices to those who need it.
Health care institutions, environmental projects, aid to disabled and orphaned children, scholarships and grants, cultural events, and cutting-edge technologies—this is a small selection of areas targeted by charitable foundations and organizations. As a rule, small foreign charitable foundations offer financial support to a certain country or geographic region for carrying out specific projects. While high-profile Western foundations are backed by large companies, capital, and affluent people, who establishes the small and little-known foundations that help implement large-scale projects, such as organizing a Ukrainian symphony orchestra’s tour of European countries?
The largest concert halls of Switzerland regularly invite acclaimed Western performers, while the names of Eastern European musicians rarely appear on billboards. Last year the Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine’s National Philharmonic toured this Alpine country for the first time. The tour was organized on the initiative of the Swiss foundation Esperia or, to be more exact, its founder Eduard Siegenthaler, a lawyer and economist by profession and a music buff and admirer of Ukrainian culture in his heart.
The appearance of a Kyiv symphony orchestra became quite an event and a discovery for Swiss audiences, which are “spoiled” by world celebrities. Frankly, I wished to know more about this native Swiss and his cultural and educational foundation established for the purpose of propagating Ukrainian culture in Western Europe.
Mr. Siegenthaler, it is written in Esperia’s registration document that it aims to support and encourage talented individuals in Ukraine and the Black Sea region. Why did you select this geographic area?
“When still a youth, I was interested in a big strange country, the Soviet Union, which I visited in 1974 as a tourist. I liked your language, the works of your writers, and your music. In 1982 I came to Odesa on a business trip. Remembering Sergei Eisenstein’s famous movie, I walked along the seaside promenade and down the legendary Potiomkin Steps. I left behind my soul and my heart in that Black Sea city.
“In 1984 I set up Management Consulting Company in Zurich, which actively worked in many European and Asian countries, including the USSR. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet empire, I decided to take a wait-and-see attitude to the developments in the young independent countries. I often visited Odesa and Kyiv, met politicians and businessmen, and mingled with people. I wondered why there were almost no foreigners in your country or, to be more exact, very few investors who could actively work in Ukraine.
“In 2005, when I came to Kyiv again, I was suddenly aware of changes. While earlier I had heard uncertainties and doubts about the implementation of projects, now I saw a different response from my Ukrainian partners. Then I realized that it was time to act. I love your country, I like your people, and I want to do something for Ukraine.
“When the Swiss think about Eastern Europe, they always mean Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Ukraine is unknown to an average statistical European. When I say I am going to Kyiv, I am often asked: ‘What for? What are you going to do in Russia?’ Ukraine does not have an image of its own — it is still associated with Russia. Establishing the Esperia foundation, we decided to work exclusively for Ukraine.”
Please tell us in more detail about your cultural and educational foundation.
“Our foundation was set up in 2007. Esperia is consonant with the French word ‘espoir,’ i.e., hope. Our symbol is a dandelion flower. People of various ages and professions work in the foundation. For me, the dandelion symbolizes transition from death to birth, from old age to youth. The flower itself has withered but the wind blows its seeds all around so they can give life to new plants. The elderly are handing over their everyday and professional experience to the young — this is the cyclic nature of the succession of generations. I wanted the foundation’s board of founders to include both young and old people, both the Swiss and Ukrainians.
“Culture, education, and science are the foundation’s three top-priority fields of activity. Our mission is to support and organize cultural, research-related and economic projects in Ukraine, Switzerland, and Western Europe.
“By decree of fate and, to some extent, under the influence of my Swiss colleague, an admirer of talented pianists, Esperia began its work, implementing a cultural project, namely, a 2008 tour of Switzerland by the Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine’s national Philharmonic. The talented Ukrainian musicians always played to thunderous applause.
“Therefore, this year we decided to broaden the geography of the tours: there will be concerts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We have received great help from the Ukrainian side: it comes from Dmytro Ostapenko, ex-Minister of Culture of Ukraine and now director general of the Kyiv Philharmonic,
“We are also going to launch a project of cooperation and student exchange between two higher educational institutions: Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University and University of St.Gallen in Switzerland. Anton Filippenko, a professor at the Kyiv Institute of International Relations, is expected to meet Ulrich Schmidt, a Swiss University professor, very shortly. I strongly hope that our foundation will help implement the project and Esperia student grants will enable Ukrainian talented students and young researchers to pursue advanced studies abroad.”
The projects of your foundation are impressive. It costs colossal money to organize a week-long tour in Europe’s most expensive country and provide for the boarding, lodging, and leisure of about a hundred people. Who funds the foundation’s activities?
“We raise funds in Switzerland to finance our projects. Among our sponsors and donors are banks, hotels, private persons, and companies. The Swiss Embassy in Kyiv granted free visas to all participants in the concert tour. Unfortunately, there is practically no assistance on the Ukrainian part. The Ukrainian Embassy in Bern and the permanent representation in Geneva will help us as much as they can, but not in terms of money.”
What is your opinion about the Ukrainian musicians?
“The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra’s first tour of Switzerland was just brilliant — far better than I could imagine. The chief conductor Mykola Diadiura is the orchestra’s brain center. You know, the German-speaking Swiss are not exactly distinguished for openness and amiability — they are a bit reluctant to show emotions. So you can imagine my surprise when, after the first concert in Zurich, the entire audience gave the musicians a prolonged standing ovation. I think the Kyiv Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra is one of the best in Eastern Europe.
“Ukraine is rich in talents, mastery, and culture. My idea is to build bridges between West and East. You know very much about Europe, but what does a European know about Ukraine?
“Take, for example, Euronews programs. I regularly watch this channel. Every country is trying to put interesting information about itself in the commercial break. But I have never seen anything about Ukraine! You absolutely lack any international-level market studies. An enormous country with a gigantic tourist potential: beautiful cities, nature, landscapes, the Black Sea coast, etc. Why not inform Western TV viewers about this?
“The Yalta Conference is a historic fact. Everybody has heard of it but nobody knows where Yalta is! This topic alone could be an attraction for Western tourists. And there can be more examples. I wish Ukraine cared more about forming a positive image of the country…”
