Dillen Associates Advances Media in Ukraine

Dillen Associates CEO Mark Dillen was awarded a Fulbright Specialist grant to lecture on media and communications at Ukrainian universities in Fall 2015.  For a six-week period, Dillen lectured in L’viv, Uzhgorod, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, on topics ranging from political reporting, reporting from conflict zones, and dealing with disinformation.

“This was an important opportunity to assist young journalists who are coping with unprecedented insecurity and disinformation,” Dillen said.  “We want to do what we can at this critical moment to help strengthen credible, independent journalism that is also economically viable.”

During this extended stay in Ukraine, Mark met with representatives of NGOs supporting independent media, including Internews and the Lviv Media Forum, to explore opportunities for future cooperation.

Promoting Croatian Wine in the United States

Istria, the peninsular region on Croatia's northwest coast, produces several unique wine varietals, including Malvasia (Malvazija istriana).  Since 2009, when we facilitated the award-winning participation of American wines at the Vinistra annual wine producers' exhibition in Poreč, Dillen Associates has been promoting contacts between the wine sector in Croatia and in the United States.  At this year's Vinistra show, Mark was invited to discuss the opportunities for exporting Malvasia to the United States, the world's largest wine market.

Dillen Associates at Bledcom

Mark Dillen and Anne Chermak Dillen both participated in this year's Bledcom, the international symposium for public relations specialists held in Bled, Slovenia. 

Mark spoke on the topic, "Between Big Brother and Big Data," a discussion of the challenges represented by government and corporate data collection.  Anne's presentation, "When Diplomacy Goes Viral," talked about the impact of the Internet on the conduct of diplomacy. 

Dillen Associates Supports Ukrainian Catholic University

As part of its pro bono support for building democratic institutions in Ukraine, Dillen Associates is proud to have arranged a fund-raiser for the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF) in San Francisco on July 30.

The event, hosted at the University of San Francisco, raised more than $290,000 to benefit Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), one of Ukraine’s leading academic institutions, and was organized by Dillen Associates President Anne Chermak Dillen

It was the first such event in the San Francisco Bay area and drew 90 participants from the Bay Area, Sacramento, Southern California, Lake Tahoe, as well as two distinguished visitors from Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada MP Olena Sotnyk and East Europe Foundation President Victor Liakh, both visiting Stanford University as prestigious Draper Fellows on Democracy and Development.

Attendees included representatives of the IT sector, academia, government, finance, non-profits, musicians, medical doctors and diplomats.
 
Keynote speaker Bishop Borys Gudziak spoke to the gathering about Ukraine's tumultuous and often tragic history, recent political events, the growth of civic consciousness, and the role of UCU in educating Ukraine's future leaders. Guests were greeted at the cocktail reception by the lyrical strains of the bandura played by Ola Herasymenko Olijnyk. At dinner, Soprano Alina Ilchuk touched hearts with her performance of four beautiful Ukrainian songs, accompanied by her husband, Andre Liesnyi on flute and saxophone.
 
To mark the conclusion of its 2010-2016 comprehensive campaign, "A New Generation for a New Ukraine," the Ukrainian Catholic University hosted a series of events in LvivSeptember 9 to 14, beginning with the consecration of a new library and resource center named after Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky, and including lectures and discussions on a wide range of topics, as well as a pilgrimage to spiritual centers in Halychyna.