On August 26, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, spoke at the plenary session of the Edinburgh International Culture Summit. This year, the focus of the Summit is on the culture and freedom of Ukraine.
“I emphasize once again that our country and our culture are fighting for the entire civilized world today. For us, culture is freedom. And freedom is the meaning of life for all Ukrainians. russia is trying to destroy our culture and our freedom. It fights against our identity. Every person who falls victim to this war is a loss to world culture. We are losing the knowledge these people had, the traditions they carried. We are losing our cultural sites because of the actions of the russians. Ukrainian culture and our people have become a shield against pure evil for the democratic world,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko.
According to the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the world should unite to provide assistance to Ukrainian cultural and media figures, to protect artists, cultural managers, and journalists: “They continue to live and work in Ukraine, in conditions of war, danger and absence of work. Ukraine is fighting for culture and freedom not only for itself, but also for the entire civilized world, so we urgently need help now in Ukraine,” he said.
The Minister also thanked the friends of Ukraine for their constant support.
In a video address to the Edinburgh International Cultural Summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Throughout history we have seen what happens when attackers try to suppress and eliminate culture. We saw it with the Nazis in World War II, with the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, with the Taliban in Afghanistan.”
“Today, the world is once again witnessing unforgivable acts of cultural vandalism, this time in Ukraine,” the British Prime Minister noted.
Boris Johnson added that Great Britain will fund “heritage protection measures” as well as military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland Piotr Gliński noted that all European countries should unite to help Ukraine achieve its goal of becoming a full-fledged and successful member of the European family after victory.
It should be reminded that the Edinburgh International Culture Summit is a several-day closed event with the participation of ministers of culture and key experts in the field of culture from around the world. It takes place every August in the premises of the Scottish Parliament. This year, the Ukrainian Institute and the British Council, in cooperation with the leadership of the Summit and as part of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture, organized a Ukrainian program called “Culture and Freedom”. Therefore, within a few days, a number of events will take place dedicated to the post-war restoration of the sphere of culture, in particular in Ukraine, as well as the need to rethink the modern world order.
