In Vilnius – the international community calls for integrating Ukraine’s culture sector into the country’s reconstruction
An international conference held in Vilnius, Towards the Recovery of the Culture Sector of Ukraine, highlighted the significance and importance of the culture sector for reconstructing Ukraine after the war. This was clearly stated in the conference’s concluding document (Vilnius Call for Action on the Recovery of the Culture Sector of Ukraine).
The conference endorsed the updated Action Plan for Culture in Ukraine, developed by Ukraine and UNESCO together with international partners. Conference participants committed to contributing to implementation of the Action Plan.
Six priorities for the recovery of the cultural sector in Ukraine were identified in the updated Action Plan, along with interventions needed to implement the priorities in the following areas: 1) monitoring, assessment, and documentation of damage to cultural heritage in Ukraine; 2) preventive and urgent measures, repairs, reconstruction, and recovery of cultural heritage; 3) revival of institutional capacity of cultural institutions and cultural education; 4) strengthening cultural and creative industries of Ukraine; 5) strengthening resilience through culture; 6) digital transformation of cultural heritage management, development of digital infrastructure, creation of digital cultural heritage inventories for integration and interoperability with international databases.
Speaking at the conference about Lithuania’s specific commitments in the near future in these areas, Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys identified stipend programmes for cultural heritage restoration specialists from Ukraine, the commitment of the Vilnius City Municipality to provide funding in the amount of USD 300,000 to the Dnipro National Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre named after Taras Shevchenko for the purpose of setting up a safe 500-seat underground space for cultural events and gatherings, and a EUR 20,000 contribution by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund.
“We will also provide opportunities for other Ukrainian culture specialists to learn in our cultural institutions in areas of need – from digitisation, heritage preservation, to management skills. We will contribute to the New European Bauhaus Lab action Public Infrastructure for Ukraine, including cultural institutions and public spaces. This will contribute to a more beautiful, a more sustainable, and a more economical restoration of Ukraine’s culture and its heritage,” said Minister of Culture Kairys.
Representatives of 31 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sakartvelo, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the USA) and international organisations and non-governmental organisations approved the conference’s concluding document (Vilnius Call for Action on the Recovery of the Culture Sector of Ukraine), which was prepared by Lithuania in close cooperation with Ukraine and UNESCO. The results of the Vilnius conference will be presented at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on 12 June.
In the document, the conference participants recognise the prominence of international partners and donors in the stabilisation, recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine from the effects of Russia’s war, as well as the importance of effective coordination, including through UNESCO’s dedicated funding mechanisms. The participants stress that the culture sector must be placed at the forefront of Ukraine’s stabilisation, recovery and reconstruction process, reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories and sustainable after-war development. The participants pledge their commitment to promote the integration of culture in all relevant discussions on Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction planning.
Summarising the results of the conference, Minister of Kairys said, “The Vilnius conference lays the foundation for recognising culture as an integral, inseparable part of the process of recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The concluding document approved at the event contributes to this. I believe that the document will become the keystone for putting together international support in the future to stabilise, restore, and reconstruct Ukraine’s culture sector.”
The international conference Towards the Recovery of the Culture Sector of Ukraine was organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, working together with the Secretariat of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO, the Lithuanian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania.
Photograph courtesy of Domas Rimeika
Last updated: 17-01-2025
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