From restoration to grants: how Ukraine will restore the cultural sphere

Ukraine is developing a set of measures to restore and develop the cultural sphere, which has suffered billions in losses and lost thousands of objects due to Russian aggression. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Tetiana Berezhna, during the presentation of the government’s action program, as reported by UNN.

DetailsAccording to Berezhna, in the conditions of a full-scale war, culture has proven its role as an element of national security, helping Ukrainians remain resilient and united. At the same time, the state is developing concrete steps to preserve and develop this sphere, as it has been significantly affected by Russia’s military aggression.

We very often quote the RDN report and mention that the cultural sphere has suffered about $4 billion in damages. If we talk about direct costs, if we talk about the under-received payments from creative industries, tourism, then the amount of close solidarity here is $23 billion USD.

According to the latest data, “currently about 1,500 cultural heritage sites have been destroyed and over 1,300 cultural infrastructure objects have been damaged.” Therefore, among the key measures is attracting international assistance through the cultural heritage preservation fund.

Currently, we have agreements on the creation of such a fund and we understand that by the end of the year we will be able to attract about UAH 500 million. Second is the Great Restoration program, within which we plan to restore about 10 cultural monuments within Ukraine. We also understand that we have outdated and irrelevant protocols that provide for the evacuation of cultural heritage from fund territories; by updating them, we will also work on preservation 

The government also plans to launch a grant program for creative industries. This will allow for the creation of new jobs, support the cultural sector, and stimulate its economic development. Special emphasis is placed on the financial independence of cultural institutions.

We understand that now our big goal is to increase services, increase the list of paid services that cultural institutions can provide to increase their financial autonomy, as well as changes regarding their organizational and legal form, which will allow them to be more independent

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