Poland and Ukraine are reinforcing cooperation in the face of challenges the war has brought to Ukraine’s cultural heritage, the Polish culture ministry has announced.
Poland is organizing assistance for Ukrainian cultural institutions through the support of Polish museums, libraries, archives and other bodies, the ministry said on its website following a meeting of culture officials.
The Ukraine Culture Conference: Cooperation for Resilience, held over the weekend in the southwestern Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, grouped the culture ministers of 20 EU states as well as representatives of UNESCO, the European Commission, and countries as far afield as Australia and Japan.
Poland’s culture minister, Hanna Wróblewska, said Poland understood perfectly the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage.
“Poland has experienced in its history attempts by other countries to erase its identity and culture—unsuccessful attempts,” she was quoted in the statement as saying.
The Ukraine Culture Conference: Cooperation for Resilience, held over the weekend in the southwestern Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, grouped the culture ministers of 20 EU states as well as representatives of UNESCO, the European Commission, and countries as far afield as Australia and Japan.
Poland’s culture minister, Hanna Wróblewska, said Poland understood perfectly the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage.
“Poland has experienced in its history attempts by other countries to erase its identity and culture—unsuccessful attempts,” she was quoted in the statement as saying.
Wróblewska told Poland’s state news agency, PAP, that conference participants had had the opportunity to discuss mechanisms to protect Ukraine’s cultural assets both during the conflict and after it ends.
She said they had been briefed on Ukraine’s cultural losses just a day after Russia attacked the coastal city of Odesa. Since the start of the war in February 2022, UNESCO had verified damage to 52 cultural sites in the Odesa region prior to Friday’s bombardment of the city’s historic center.
Wróblewska told PAP the issue of monitoring and documenting illegal trade in looted Ukrainian treasures was on the conference agenda. She said artefacts had started to appear both in Russian museums and on Western markets.
She said they had been briefed on Ukraine’s cultural losses just a day after Russia attacked the coastal city of Odesa. Since the start of the war in February 2022, UNESCO had verified damage to 52 cultural sites in the Odesa region prior to Friday’s bombardment of the city’s historic center.
Cultural looting
Wróblewska told PAP the issue of monitoring and documenting illegal trade in looted Ukrainian treasures was on the conference agenda. She said artefacts had started to appear both in Russian museums and on Western markets.
Culture ministers also discussed the issue of sanctions on those collaborating with Russian cultural institutions.
Minister Wróblewska told PAP that as Poland currently holds the EU presidency, she would be calling an informal meeting in Warsaw in early April of her peers from the bloc.
She said her ministry would invite Ukraine’s culture minister, Mykola Tochytskyi, to ensure that Ukraine’s cultural challenges and the conclusions of the Uzhhorod conference are included in the talks.
Minister Wróblewska told PAP that as Poland currently holds the EU presidency, she would be calling an informal meeting in Warsaw in early April of her peers from the bloc.
She said her ministry would invite Ukraine’s culture minister, Mykola Tochytskyi, to ensure that Ukraine’s cultural challenges and the conclusions of the Uzhhorod conference are included in the talks.
More In Culture MORE...
