PEN Ukraine is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization established to protect freedom of speech and authors' rights, promote literature and international cultural cooperation. It is part of the network of national centers of the International PEN.
The Ukrainian Center for International PEN was founded in the fall of 1989, within the Writers' Union of Ukraine. Mykola Vingranovsky, a Ukrainian poet, was elected the organization's first president.[1]
The main governing body is the General Assembly, which elects an eight-member executive board, headed by a president and two vice presidents.
The abbreviation PEN stands for "poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists", but today PEN Ukraine accept members from outside of literary circles, and the organisation currently has 140 members.[2]