Today, on October 23, a meeting took place between the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy, Rostyslav Karandieiev, and representatives of the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ukraine. The parties discussed ways of further collaboration, particularly in the areas of preserving and promoting Ukrainian cultural heritage and information policy.
The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Director of the Office for Democracy and Governance at the USAID Mission in Ukraine, Ann Hopper, Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, Glen Davis, the Deputy Country Representative of Ukraine in the Office of Transitional Initiatives at USAID, Brooke Harding, and the Project Management Specialist at USAID, Victoria Marchenko. Additionally, the Deputy Ministers of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Anastasia Bondar and Taras Shevchenko, were also present.
Rostyslav Karandieiev expressed gratitude to the U.S. government for its steadfast support of the Ukrainian people and emphasized that the assistance provided by USAID is a guarantee of the development of the cultural and information policy sectors in Ukraine.
He outlined the vision for the development strategy of the cultural and information policy sectors in Ukraine in the context of the ongoing war and categorized the challenges of the past, present, and future. This includes preserving Ukrainian historical heritage, ensuring a contemporary cultural-economic process, and building the capacity of society and culture to work in the interest of the people.
“Culture and national identity, as well as matters of spiritual resilience, are extremely important for the development of society. That’s why the focus on culture as a factor in shaping human values should be at a high level,” emphasized Rostyslav Karandieiev.
The Acting Minister mentioned that, in the context of cultural themes, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (the MCIP) is currently focusing on areas such as the digitalization of heritage objects and museum artifacts, restoration of damaged heritage sites, the development of creative industries, art education, and the creation of barrier-free access to cultural services. Additionally, there are plans to establish depositories for the preservation of cultural values and the development of cultural service centers in communities, among other initiatives.
In turn, the Acting Director of USAID, Theodora Dell, emphasized the importance of protecting and promoting Ukrainian culture and supporting information policy not only after the war but also right now.
“Ukrainian culture is important to the United States and the world. We are proud of our collaboration with the MCIP. Everything we do through our projects is support not for ministries but for the people of Ukraine. It is support for victory. We hope that our strong partnership will continue,” she said.
Rostyslav Karandieiev highlighted the consistent support of USAID in the implementation of informational projects involving the MCIP and the establishment of a network of radio and television organizations in Ukraine.
“We set the task of ensuring that every citizen of Ukraine has access to current and truthful information, including in the frontline and the temporarily occupied territories,” he noted.
The parties agreed to continue developing collaboration routes in the field of culture and to discuss projects in close partnership for further development.
