UNESCO Announces Two New Initiatives to Preserve Ukrainian Heritage

UNESCO is implementing two new initiatives in Ukraine - a project to preserve Jewish documentary heritage and a project to restore and promote more than 300 works by about fifty Ukrainian artists.

The additional initiatives for Ukraine were announced by Audrey Azoulay, the organisation's director general, during a visit to Lviv, Ukrinform reports, citing the UNESCO website.

‘The first initiative, implemented in cooperation with ten cultural institutions of the country and with the support of the European Union (2.2 million euros), is aimed at preserving the Jewish documentary heritage of Ukraine. Fifty cultural professionals will be trained by UNESCO to inventory, preserve, and digitise these historical documents across the country,’ the statement said.

UNESCO will also support dozens of art projects aimed at promoting this heritage to a wide audience, especially young people.

‘The second initiative concerns the restoration and promotion of more than 300 works by about fifty Ukrainian women artists. UNESCO will provide training for about 80 Ukrainian professionals, and these works will also be digitised and presented in a virtual museum accessible to all,’ UNESCO said.

The initiative was conceived as a tribute to the Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko, whose museum was destroyed in Ivankiv at the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

In total, since 2022, UNESCO has mobilised almost $74 million from member states to support Ukraine.