Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Lebanon
Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Lebanon
02/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/08/2024 19:36
Supporting the resilience of Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors
As part of its unwavering support to Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression more than two years ago, the EU has been strongly supporting the Ukraine's cultural and creative sectors. A newly released report summarises the series of activities in this domain organised by the Cultural Relations Platform at the request of the European Commission between January and April 2024.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has had a significant impact on Ukraine's cultural ecosystem. As part of its unwavering support to Ukraine, the European Union has been very active in supporting the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, with actions aimed at supporting their resilience, recovery and future integration with the EU.
Harnessing the transformative power of culture
Against this background, the European Commission tasked the Cultural Relations Platform to carry out a series of activities with and for representatives of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, including independent and state institutions. The results and main messages are gathered in a newly released report by the Cultural Relations Platform, which is entitled "Cultural and creative sectors in Ukraine: resilience, recovery, and integration with the EU".
The report conveys the key messages discussed between representatives of leading cultural institutions and networks from Ukraine and the European Union as well as stakeholders from other related sectors working in the field of EU-Ukraine cooperation. One of the new trends is the brain drain which is becoming more visible in all sectors of the economy, having a crosscutting impact on efficiency and productivity. Another key message is that the war is exhausting Ukrainians' mental and emotional resources.
Cultural operators and professionals in Ukraine sent a clear message to the EU: culture cannot contribute to the resilience and recovery of Ukraine if it's not resilient itself.
The report analyses the essential contribution of Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors to social cohesion, regional development, economic growth, skills for resilience and recovery. It also puts these issues in the perspective of the Ukraine's integration process into the EU.
Demonstrating the continued support to Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors
The consultation with the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors started already in 2022, through a workshop on assessing the needs of the Ukrainian cultural actors. The continuation of the war and the new challenges made this second workshop necessary.
The following services of the European Union have been involved in support to these activities, thus demonstrating the continued EU support: the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, the Directorate- General for Regional and Urban Policy, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, the Joint Research Center, the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, the EU Delegation in Kyiv and the European External Action Service.
About the report
The report is the culmination of a series of activities that are based on the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026, in which EU countries call the European Commission to support and empower local cultural and creative sectors in Ukraine.
The project's activities included:
- an online questionnaire that engaged 498 respondents from all over Ukraine
- two online meetings with representatives of the cultural and creative sectors in Ukraine
- an on-site final workshop in Brussels with 65 participants representing key institutions and networks from the cultural and creative sectors in Ukraine and the EU, as well as EU Institutions
The report was written by Anna Karnaukh and Kateryna Kravchuk, Ukrainian experts in culture and creativity and was coordinated by the Cultural Relations Platform, an EU-funded project that provides expertise to the European Union on international cultural relations.
Read the full report: