The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, reaffirmed the unconditional support of the Ukrainian people for the «Cultural Conference of Ukraine: Cooperation for Resistance» («Cultural Conference of Ukraine: Cooperation for Resistance»), organized by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, in the city, in the city.
«On behalf of Spain, I want to reaffirm our full commitment to supporting Ukrainian sovereignty and the necessary reconstruction, also in the cultural field,» said Urtasun at this meeting, whose goal was to address the reconstruction and cultural protection of Ukraine.
More than twenty countries participated in the conference, including culture ministers from Germany, Greece, Finland, Poland, Sweden, or Bulgaria, as well as international institutions such as the European Union and UNESCO, according to the ministry in a statement.
In his first intervention at this summit, Urtasun reaffirmed Spain’s unconditional support for the Ukrainian people in facing and building lasting peace, where culture and respect for the cultural sovereignty of countries must play an essential role.
Urtasun outlined the actions that Spain has been taking to support the Ukrainian cultural sector since the invasion occurred. On one hand, through the Spain-Unesco Cooperation Fund, the Lyev Cultural Center was created, opened this week. With this cultural center, Spain aims to contribute to training in the field of culture and research in excellent cultural policies.
And, on the other hand, efforts are focused on certain cultural sectors, such as cinema. Therefore, in addition to the 300,000 euros that Spain contributed in 2024 to the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Cinema, the Minister announced that another 200,000 euros will be added in 2025.
All this is in addition to the 10 million euros of Spanish cooperation in humanitarian aid announced this week, which represents a total of 100 million euros in this area since the start of the war. In addition, these contributions are coordinated with the 400 million euros of reconstruction aid being implemented by Spain.
Spanish solidarity was also reflected in culture and museums that joined the «Professionals and Museums with Ukraine» campaign, sending solidarity trucks loaded with protective materials, including the Prado National Museum or the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
«We are working on an agreement for the exchange of professionals in culture and training, as well as on the knowledge and dissemination of Ukrainian reality to promote solidarity between our countries,» said Urtasun.
World 2025
Spain’s participation in this summit is part of the agenda that the Minister of Culture will maintain this year for the preparation of World 2025, the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development of UNESCO.
During the summit, Urtasun held bilateral meetings with his counterparts in Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi; from Sweden, Parisa Liljestrand; from Poland, Hanna Wóblewska; and from Bulgaria, Marian Bachev; as well as with the European Union Commissioner for Intergenerational Justice, Youth, Culture, and Sports, Glenn Micallef.
These meetings allowed progress to prepare for the summit, which will take place in Barcelona between September 29 and October. World 2025 will bring together the 194 UNESCO Member States to jointly define the agenda for world culture.
«We return to Spain with a common agenda that we will carry out in defense of Ukrainian culture and also in defense of culture as a universal law for all people and nations of the world,» according to Urtasun.
