UNESCO director-general's visit to Ukraine. 6.9 billion will be needed for culture

Visit to Ukraine forUNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, who was in Kyiv, Chernihiv , and Odessa between yesterday and today to meet with top national authorities. In particular, during her visit, Azoulay had the opportunity to confer with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (met in the Chernihiv region), First Lady Olena Zelenska, Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko , and Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the National Commission of Ukraine Commission for UNESCO, Emine Dzhaparova.

The first meeting of the day was with Olena Zelenska, who expressed gratitude to Audrey Azoulay for supporting Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression, particularly for the positive decision of the World Heritage Committee to inscribe the Historic Center of Odessa on the World Heritage List last January 25 and at the same time also to place it on the List of World Heritage in Danger. “This decision, taken during the war in Ukraine, when our historical and cultural heritage is one of the strategic targets for the aggressor country,” Zelenska said, “will allow us to protect Odessa’s cultural heritage and preserve it from the Russian invaders, who have repeatedly directed their missiles against the city.” Olena Zelenska also welcomed the unblocking of the work of the World Heritage Committee and the decision to take away from Russia the organization of the 45th session of the Committee (which was supposed to be held in Kazan, and will be held instead, in September, in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia).

The Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, likewise thanked Azoulay for her visit, as, in his opinion, it is very important for her to see with her own eyes what is happening in Ukraine. “The visit of our foreign partners,” Tkachenko said, “is a contribution to our stable relations and additional support. Because, seeing our culture, which continues to live and develop despite the war on the one hand and the extent of losses and destruction on the other, it is impossible to remain indifferent. There is still much work to be done and we hope for further support from UNESCO, as the losses of Ukraine’s cultural sphere due to the war already amount to 7 billion euros.” The minister also said that an application dossier is being prepared for the inscription of the cultural landscape of the city of Chernihiv on the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger list (provisional title: “Cultural Landscape of Medieval and Modern Chernihiv with Historic Building Complexes”).

In turn, Audrey Azoulay stressed that she knows how important culture is to Ukrainian identity: “I know how much Ukrainians have done to protect themselves, to protect their culture and their heritage,” said the UNESCO director general. And we want to be on their side. For our part, we also monitor the destruction of objects, in particular, in culture. And this is very important for their restoration in the future. We have already provided very significant assistance and it will increase in the near future." He also noted that UNESCO will continue to mobilize international support, including expertise, to support Ukraine.

“On the other hand, the visit of the director general,” Emine Dzhaparova stressed, “is a strong signal of support and solidarity for Ukraine during the war. The year 2022 was a turning point in the history of our bilateral relations with Odessa (the candidacy dossier was successfully considered by the World Heritage Committee), the Borscht dossier (it was also considered favorably by UNESCO), etc. We are also pleased to announce that we have decided to submit our candidacy to the Executive Committee for the period 2025-2029 and hope that our partners will support us.”

During the conversation with President Zelenskyy, the importance of UNESCO’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people in the midst of Russian aggression was stressed by Ukraine’s highest authority. “Thank you for the concrete results of your work and support for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “We are fighting on the battlefield for the values of democracy, our freedom and independence, for the future of our children, as well as for our historical values and cultural heritage. It is very important to protect them.”

According to the Ukrainian chair, evidence of UNESCO’s solidarity with Ukraine was, in particular, the establishment of its institutional presence in the country with the creation of a UNESCO Liaison Office in Kyiv. The parties noted the importance of Ukraine’s 69-year membership in UNESCO, which is characterized by active international cooperation in the scientific, educational and cultural fields.

The chairman then separately emphasized the inadmissibility of Russia’s membership in UNESCO and the importance of a clear and strong response by the organization and its organs to the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed Audrey Azoulay of the Ukrainian cultural properties destroyed or damaged by Russia, pointing out that their total number is about 1190, as well as of the theft and illegal removal of Ukrainian cultural values from the temporarily occupied territories (as of March 22, 2023, theUNESCO has been able to verify the damage to 248 sites since the beginning of the war, namely 107 religious sites, 21 museums, 89 buildings of historical and artistic interest, 19 monuments and 12 libraries). In this context, the chairman stressed the importance of UNESCO’s leading role in engaging international partners in restoring Ukraine’s damaged cultural heritage.

Finally, Zelenskyy greatly appreciated UNESCO’s help in implementing a number of projects in Ukraine, particular to ensure the continuity of education and the mental health program implemented under the patronage of the first lady of Ukraine. At the meeting, Audrey Azoulay presented the Head of State with a certificate on the inclusion of the historic center of the city of Odessa on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Expressing gratitude for the decision regarding Odessa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the importance of including other Ukrainian cultural heritage sites on the UNESCO list, especially the historic center of Chernihiv.

Audrey Azoulay, on the sidelines of her visit, said the two-day UNESCO event in the country was organized to “reaffirm our support for the Ukrainian people and advance cultural and educational reconstruction wherever possible.” Unesco, with the support of the Japanese delegation, “will also provide,” she added, "a series of on-site traning sessions for reconstruction to Ukrainian architects, conservators and urban planners." Azoulay then announced that UNESCO will develop a comprehensive recovery project for Chernihiv’s historic center this year. As for the economic commitment, UNESCO will allocate more than 10 million euros to strengthen the response to the educational emergency in the country (the funds will be used in particular to extend psychosocial support for children in schools and to train more than two thousand teachers on the topic of e-learning platforms), and estimated that $6.9 billion will be needed over the next ten years to support the restart of the cultural sector and the tourism sector. “Our organization,” Azoulay said, “is mobilizing and coordinating international partners to respond to the needs in the cultural sector.”

Audreyto Ukraine

Audreyto Ukraine

UNESCO director-general's visit to Ukraine. 6.9 billion will be needed for culture

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