Today, August 2, the team of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine met with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink and her team. The topic of discussion was the support for the cultural sphere and Ukrainian mass media and the issue of their preservation during the war.
“We have lots of tasks in restoring our cultural sphere after the war, and we face even more challenges today. Therefore, I continue to explain to partners why we need particular support already now and within Ukraine. I am grateful to our partners for their understanding and willingness to help,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
During the meeting, the parties discussed three possible areas of cooperation:
• Support for Ukrainian media and countering russian disinformation.
In particular, within the support for Ukrainian media, the “Information Ramstein” project was discussed – a new form of partnership, similar to the current format of Ramstein, which will have not only a military, but also an informational character.
“Our media is our information front, which is proposed to be joined by all the countries of the civilized world. That is why I offer to organize an “Information Ramstein”, which will become a platform for discussing new information challenges of wartime and will mark the beginning of a unified information front of the allied countries,” added the Minister.
In addition, the issue of the media environment during the war and the U.S. support for independent media was brought up for discussion.
• Preservation of the cultural heritage of Ukraine.
The parties discussed the support for Ukraine both in the direction of digitalization of cultural heritage and the creation of separate registers for each direction, and in the supply of materials for the evacuation of cultural objects;
• Support for Ukrainian artists and book publishing.
Within this direction, it was proposed to create collaboration between well-known American and Ukrainian institutions or artists on a long-term basis. The Minister also emphasized that artists in Ukraine need financial support.
For reminding, online meetings with the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Lee Satterfield (U.S. Department of State) were held on May 16 and August 1. During the meeting, the areas of work related to the preservation of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, support for Ukrainian media and countering russian disinformation, support for Ukrainian artists, and promotion of Ukrainian culture abroad were defined.
