ICOMOS Europe Group - Special meeting on Ukraine
Since 24 February, Ukraine's cultural heritage has been severely threatened and many sites have been destroyed. ICOMOS has been closely monitoring the situation and has provided a variety of assistance, ranging from monitoring and documentation to the provision of equipment and funding.
On 6 May, the ICOMOS Europe Group organised a special meeting with ten colleagues from Ukraine and representatives of the majority of ICOMOS’ European National Committees.
The aim of the meeting was to share information on the assistance needed and already provided in order to allow for better coordination in times of crisis. Colleagues from Ukraine gave a detailed presentation of the situation, threats and needs. The President and Vice-Presidents of ICOMOS as well as many National Committees shared the measures taken to help Ukrainians and Ukrainian heritage.
The main challenges are the lack of human, expert and financial resources to save the heritage from destruction as well as preparation for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The main responsibility of ICOMOS is to support the functionality of its Ukrainian National Committee, to advocate for the enhancement of local heritage and traditions as key values for reconstruction, to provide expert training and to support the involvement of local communities in the recovery process.
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