Supported by Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine, as well as the Architects’ Council of Europe, the European Council of Spatial Planners, ICOMOS, Europa Nostra, the International Federation of Landscape architects Europe, the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe, Bouygues Bâtiment International (France) and the German Sustainable Building Council,
Condemning resolutely the continuing Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and its deliberate attacks against Ukrainian people, civilian objects and infrastructure, including the destruction or damage of Ukrainian cultural sites and cultural heritage, in gross violation of international law;
Emphasising a detrimental effect of Russia’s military aggression on the lives of Ukrainian people;
Expressing our solidarity with Ukraine and its people, and their fight for freedom, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders;
Stressing the importance of the principles and values embedded in the Statute of the Council of Europe (1949) and of the aims and objectives of the European Cultural Convention (1954);
Recalling that all parties must strictly comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law;
Reaffirming our commitment to the Davos Declaration “Towards a high-quality Baukultur for Europe”, adopted by the Ministers of Culture in 2018 in Davos, Switzerland, and highlighting the Davos Baukultur Quality System as an instrument to achieve high-quality Baukultur;
Welcoming the launch of the new informal Davos Baukultur Alliance platform on the occasion of their current meeting;
Recognising the need and a common will to contribute to the Ukrainian recovery and rebuilding process, as well as the leadership of Ukraine in this process;
We,
Ministers of Culture and Heads of Delegations, as well as representatives of the participating organisations and businesses,
meeting from 14 to 16 January 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, at the invitation of Switzerland, on the eve of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum:
call on the international community to coordinate its efforts and cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities in helping to rebuild the country in line with the Lugano principles and the high-quality Baukultur values; and to strive for the maximum use of local human and material resources in rebuilding the country in order to support local competences, economy and climate neutrality;
highlight the need to ensure participation of Ukrainian non-governmental and professional organisations, acting in the fields of architecture, spatial planning, engineering, cultural heritage and other, in the process, as well as of the Ukrainian professionals in the country or displaced to other countries due to the military aggression;
acknowledge the importance of taking an inclusive approach in the rebuilding of Ukraine,
involving Ukrainian communities in the process as it concerns their living spaces, as well as their national, regional and local cultural identity;
emphasise the particular importance of protecting, preserving and restoring Ukrainian cultural heritage as a part of the European cultural heritage;
express the will and readiness to provide expertise and support to Ukraine in rebuilding the country;
commit to take action, including through coordinated international efforts, and in the spirit of high-quality Baukultur, the Davos Baukultur Quality System and the Davos Baukultur Alliance, and fully cooperating with the Ukrainian governmental and non-governmental institutions, as well as its private sector.
Davos (Switzerland), 16 January 2023
