On February 27, in Berlin, Ukrainian and German public activists, artists and politicians discussed the future of Ukraine and Europe in the context of the anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It took place in a historic cafe, which was temporarily symbolically renamed into “Kyiv”.
“Cafe Kyiv – We Choose Freedom” is a one-day event, where not only a number of panel discussions and workshops took place, but also a presentation of Ukrainian culture, art and cuisine.
Galyna Grygorenko, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, participated in the panel discussion “Freedom to be secure”. As part of the discussion, the scale of the destruction of cultural infrastructure and sites in Ukraine was announced, and it was also outlined what in Germany can be done to support Ukrainian culture.
“First of all, it is necessary to change the view at Ukrainian culture and art. For too long, the “view from Moscow” position determined approaches to study and perception of our culture. Time to provide platforms for independent expressions of our artists. And you should not deceive yourself that russian culture has nothing in common with russia’s current aggression against our cultural identity. “Great russian culture” is a myth, it is what the russian federation is trying to justify its influence with, and what russian tanks are following,” said Galyna Grygorenko.
All discussions focused on the role of freedom for Ukraine and all of Europe, security guarantees after victory and the urgent need for quick support of Ukraine. Any delays cost Europe too much. Main themes: freedom to be democratic, freedom to be innovative, freedom to be safe, freedom to be European. At the same time, the participants analyzed what European countries can learn from the events of last year, how Ukraine resists russia’s brutal war of aggression, and what Ukraine’s economic and cultural potential is.
As part of her visit to Germany, the Deputy Minister held a number of working meetings with representatives of cultural institutions on issues of aid to Ukraine and possible joint projects.
The organizer of the event is the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
On the anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several thousand people gathered in Berlin to support Ukraine. On February 24, demonstrators marched through the city center, demanding “withdrawal of russian troops from Ukraine” and “fair peace”. Activists also walked past the russian embassy in Berlin, in front of which a russian T-72 tank that was destroyed in Ukraine is installed.
