On August 25th, a meeting took place between the acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev, and the team from the MCIP, with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson. The parties outlined priority areas of cooperation.
“Ukraine is interested in implementing new joint projects with Estonia in the field of culture and information policy. For us, preserving culture primarily means preserving the people who are carriers of artistic traditions and national identity,” emphasized the acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev.
The parties discussed supporting Ukraine on the international stage, the preservation and restoration of Ukrainian cultural heritage, including the creation of electronic registries, initiating a project to train Ukrainian experts in the field of “restoration,” with financial and organizational support from Estonia and other EU countries, and cooperation to counter russian disinformation.
According to Rostyslav Karandieiev, supporting book publishing and promoting Ukrainian literature abroad, advancing its presence in the European book market, expanding cooperation with relevant associations and leading publishers in EU countries, as well as implementing a program for translating works of Ukrainian writers, are currently important for Ukraine.
“Estonia is ready to support Ukraine’s initiatives and promote them within the countries of the European Union. This applies to projects related to preserving cultural heritage, training professionals, collaborative production and promotion of Ukrainian cinema, as well as book publishing,” noted Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament.
The Ukrainian side became interested in Estonia’s experience in adapting legislation to the European standards in the field of culture. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MCIP) suggested involving Estonian experts in auditing the Ukrainian legal framework and developing recommendations for modernizing the legal relations between the state and the cultural sphere.
Rostyslav Karandieiev expressed gratitude to the Estonian side for their collaborative efforts in preparing the nomination for the inclusion of the element “Ukrainian Pysanka: Tradition and Art” into UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
