The ARK III (Ark) project is being launched in Ukraine as part of the «Support Ukrainian Culture» initiative, aimed at preserving cultural heritage through digitization. The corresponding declaration was signed in Lviv by the National Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra» and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
According to Anastasia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations, and Digitization, negotiations and project preparation with colleagues from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic lasted over a year. This is not the first experience of collaboration aimed at preserving and digitizing cultural heritage sites.
«The project includes the operation of two mobile stations valued at 10 and 20 million Czech crowns, which will allow for the digitization of ancient manuscripts and 3D scanning of cultural objects,» said Luboš Veselý, Director of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, which provides financial support for the initiative.
The National Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra» will serve as a training center for Ukrainian specialists.
According to Maksym Ostapenko, General Director of the National Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,» the first candidate for digitization is the Mariupol Museum. «In the near future, several exhibits that survived from the destroyed museum in Mariupol, which was completely burned down, will be displayed at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Soon, we will begin negotiations to digitize these relics, which are of great importance to the history of Mariupol and its community,» said Maksym Ostapenko.
Each mobile center will be staffed by teams of three specialists, able to move quickly across Ukraine. Digitization can be conducted directly in the specially equipped van or in museums, which will help preserve cultural heritage despite attempts to destroy it by the russian aggressor, according to Ondřej Chrást, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic.
The project is initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and will be implemented by the National Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra» in cooperation with the Czech Karel Komárek Family Foundation (KKFF). The ARK III project is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2025 and will last for two years.
It is worth noting that the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage through digitization has been identified as a key priority in the collaboration between Ukraine and the Czech Republic under the SUPPORTING UKRAINIAN CULTURE – ARK Projects initiative.
