Ukraine attends informal meeting of Nordic-Baltic ministers of culture as special guest
From the left, front row: Eirikur í Jákupsstovu, Agnese Lāce, Parisa Liljestrand, Mykola Totjytskyj, Mari-Leena Talvitie
The meeting, organised on the joint initiative of Finland and Åland, was hosted by Finland’s Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie. In addition to the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, the meeting was also attended by the ministers responsible for culture in Denmark (Jakob Engel-Schmidt), Iceland (Logi Einarsson), Norway (Lubna Jaffery), Sweden (Parisa Liljestrand), Åland (Annika Hambrudd), the Faroe Islands (Eirikur í Jákupsstovu), Estonia (Heidy Purga), Latvia (Agnese Lāce), and Lithuania (Šarūnas Birutis).
The meeting was informal in nature with no formal decisions made. The intention was to continue the discussion started at the ministerial meeting and related conference held in Stockholm last year. Another item on the agenda was how to further strengthen regional co-operation between the Nordic and Baltic countries and Ukraine on resilience and the protection of and accessibility to cultural heritage.
Building on the joint declaration
Last year, the Nordic and Baltic ministers adopted a joint declaration entitled Nordic-Baltic ministerial declaration on the role of culture and cultural heritage for democratic and resilient societies. In the declaration, the ministers condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and its violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, destroying and damaging Ukraine’s cultural, historical and religious sites, and cultural heritage.
At a roundtable discussion, the ministers received information on the critical situation in Ukraine. In addition, emphasis was placed on the measures that each country is prioritising in order to protect cultural heritage during a crisis or war and on the link between the protection of cultural heritage and national defence.
“Regional co-operation in the protection of cultural heritage strengthens citizens’ trust and society’s resilience. Co-operation promotes democracy and openness in society and binds its residents together. That's why it's important that we develop preparedness expertise in the cultural sector both nationally and together with our neighbouring countries in a cross-sectoral manner,” says Finland’s Minister of Science and Culture, Mari-Leena Talvitie.
