The Minister of Culture has reaffirmed Spain’s unconditional support for the Ukrainian people and its backing for the country’s cultural reconstruction at the ‘Cooperation for Resilience’ conference of culture ministers.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, during the conference ‘Cooperation for Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, during the conference held in Ukraine “Cooperation for resilience”.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has taken part in the ‘Ukraine Cultural Conference: Cooperation for Resilience’ of Ministers of Culture, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, in the city of Uzhgorod. Representatives from more than twenty countries, including the Ministers of Culture of Germany, Greece, Finland, Poland, Sweden and Bulgaria, as well as international institutions such as the European Union and UNESCO, took part in the meeting, the aim of which was to discuss the reconstruction and safeguarding of culture in Ukraine.
TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Ernest Urtasun announces a new contribution to the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Cinema in 2025
Throughout the day, issues such as the importance of the role of culture for national sovereignty, the protection and reconstruction of heritage, and the international fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property in contexts of war, among others, were discussed.
Spain’s support for Ukrainian culture
In his first speech at this summit, the Minister of Culture reaffirmed Spain’s unconditional support for the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion and for all peoples who are victims of unjust wars, as well as its willingness to accompany these peoples in their reconstruction and the construction of a lasting peace, in which culture and respect for the cultural sovereignty of countries must play an essential role.
In this respect, Urtasun explained at the forum the actions that Spain has been carrying out since the invasion to support the Ukrainian cultural sector. On the one hand, through the Spain-UNESCO Cooperation Trust Fund, the Lyev Cultural Centre, inaugurated this week, has been created. With this Cultural Hub, Spain aims to contribute to training in the field of culture and research in cultural policies of excellence.
On the other hand, efforts are being focused on specific cultural sectors such as cinema. Thus, in addition to the 300,000 euros that Spain contributed in 2024 to the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Cinema, the minister announced that another 200,000 euros will be added in 2025. All of this is in addition to the 10 million euros of Spanish Cooperation in Humanitarian Aid recently announced, making a total of 100 million euros in this area since the beginning of the war. In addition, these contributions are coordinated with the 400 million euros in reconstruction aid that Spain is deploying.
Spanish solidarity has also been reflected in the cultural institutions and museums that have joined the ‘Professionals and Museums with Ukraine’ campaign, sending trucks loaded with protective material, including the Museo Nacional del Prado and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. And finally, as the minister announced, ‘we are working on an agreement for the exchange of cultural and training professionals, as well as on the knowledge and dissemination of the Ukrainian reality to promote solidarity between our countries’.
Mondiacult 2025
Spain’s participation in this summit is part of the agenda that the Minister of Culture will maintain this year in preparation for Mondiacult 2025, UNESCO’s World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development.
Within the framework of the summit, Urtasun is holding bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi; Sweden, Parisa Liljestrand; Poland, Hanna Wróblewska; and Bulgaria, Marian Bachev; as well as with the European Union Commissioner for Intergenerational Justice, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef.
These meetings have allowed progress to be made in the preparation of the summit, which will be held in Barcelona from 29 September to 1 October. Mondiacult 2025 will bring together UNESCO’s 194 Member States to define together the global agenda for culture.