On August 14, a meeting took place between the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia to Ukraine, Anica Djamić.
The discussion focused on Ukraine’s needs in the field of cultural heritage preservation, which is suffering due to russian aggression, the return of cultural artifacts, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage. Cooperation within the framework of UNESCO activities was also discussed.
The Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev, outlined the challenges currently facing Ukraine, including the preservation of cultural heritage and the protection of cultural workers. He expressed gratitude to the Croatian government for their financial and material assistance to Ukrainian citizens, who will continue to need support due to russian aggression.
“We want our citizens to maintain their connection with their country and preserve their Ukrainian identity. It is important to create favorable conditions for this,” said Rostyslav Karandieiev, Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
The Head of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy emphasized Ukraine’s need to establish a depository for the preservation of evacuated museum artifacts and highlighted the importance of Croatia’s experience in this matter. He also proposed intensifying cultural cooperation by organizing Ukrainian exhibitions, tours, and film screenings in Croatia, as well as creating conditions for studying the Ukrainian language and supporting book publishing, including translations of Ukrainian authors into Croatian.
The parties also discussed issues related to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, particularly that of the Greeks of the Azov region.
“Croatia has stood with Ukraine since the first days of the war, primarily due to its own experience of war. Our experience helps Ukraine navigate processes more quickly and avoid mistakes that might be made due to inexperience,” noted the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia to Ukraine, Anica Djamić.
She proposed holding an online meeting with officials from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia to discuss the preservation of cultural heritage and confirmed Croatia’s support for Ukraine within the framework of UNESCO.
