On December 9, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, met with Jennes de Mol, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ukraine, and Robert Quarles van Ufford, Coordinator for the Reconstruction of Ukraine from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands will increase financial support from DutchCulture to Ukrainian artists and cultural organizations. During the meeting, it was also discussed about support and organization of study visits for exchange of experience and professional development for Ukrainian artists. In addition, the Netherlands is an example in terms of preserving cultural heritage, the experience of which Ukraine wants to study.
The parties discussed the needs of Ukrainian cultural institutions to survive the approaching winter, as well as their reconstruction in war-affected and de-occupied regions, strengthening cultural cooperation between the countries – cultural exchanges, exhibitions, performances, cooperation between institutions, grants, book publishing. It was also about specific places where Ukrainian cultural projects can replace russian ones.
“The Dutch are very frank; they immediately say what will work and what is an unstable issue. With the beginning of a full-scale war, they stopped cooperation with the cultural institutions of russia. Instead, they are open to strengthening the representation of Ukrainian culture in the Netherlands,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko.
