On August 21, an online meeting took place between Tetyana Berezhna, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, and Wolfram Weimer, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media of the Federal Republic of Germany.
During the meeting, the parties discussed a wide range of issues concerning bilateral cooperation, with particular focus on the implementation of specific projects in the fields of cultural heritage preservation, support for artistic initiatives, and restoration of damaged cultural sites.
Tetyana Berezhna expressed her gratitude to the German Government for its consistent and comprehensive support of Ukraine amid the full-scale war, emphasizing the importance of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine’s cultural sector. Special mention was made of the Ukraine Art Aid Center, which has already provided support to over 1,200 Ukrainian cultural institutions. The latest shipment of humanitarian aid was delivered on August 18 to the National Preserve “Saint Sophia of Kyiv.”
Particular attention was devoted to Ukraine’s participation in leading international book fairs, including the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs. The Ukrainian side expressed appreciation for Germany’s long-standing support of the Ukrainian publishing sector’s presence at these prestigious events, as well as for the principled and consistent stance of the German Government in preventing representatives of the aggressor state from participating in the Frankfurt and Leipzig Fairs.
The preservation and restoration of cultural heritage were also key points of discussion. Tetiana Berezhna presented new initiatives launched at this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2025) in Rome — the Cultural Resilience Alliance and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund — and invited Germany to join these efforts.
In response, Minister of State Wolfram Weimer reaffirmed Germany’s interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation, including through the implementation of reconstruction projects for iconic Ukrainian cultural heritage sites damaged by russian attacks. Both sides agreed to identify a list of such sites that would be prioritized for joint restoration efforts.
