UNESCO strengthens support for culture in war-torn Ukraine

UNESCO is strengthening its support for cultural workers in Ukraine who are involved in the country’s reconstruction amid the war with Russia.

The secretary genaral of the UN’s cultural wing, Audrey Azoulay, inaugurated a cultural centre in the western city of Lviv on her second visit to the country.

The centre is intended to be a place of work, exhibition and training for artists from all over Ukraine, for whom the city, near the Polish border, has become a place of refuge.

A programme of art and cultural therapy for victims of war is also planned there.

During her visit, the head of UNESCO also launched an initiative to support around 300 female Ukrainian artists and to protect Jewish heritage. Fifty experts are to be trained to catalogue historical Jewish documents and to preserve them.

Since 2022 when Russia invaded, the UN cultural organization has provided Ukraine with around €68 million ($71 million) in support in the areas of culture, education, science and media.

The UNESCO office in Kiev, which opened in September 2022, is deploying more than 35 experts to assess damage, secure museum collections, restore monuments, provide distance learning and psycho-social support for students, as well as training and equipment for journalists working in the country.