This report gives the overview of the implementation of 2005 Convention by the Ukrainian State on the international, national and regional level in years 2014-2017. The landmark events of the late 2013-early 2014 – the Revolution of Dignity – have caused the re-institutionalization of the Ukrainian society, influenced greatly the speed-up of the democratic changes, strengthening of the civil society and national identity. The cultural policy paradigm has shifted, bringing new solutions and approaches.
Despite of the severe political, economic and social difficulties caused by the military aggression against Ukraine and the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the cultural sphere id developing and flourishing. Ukraine tends to overcome the economic crisis, while cultural sector is being transformed to meet the modern demands, to secure the diversity of the cultural expressions and to create the integrated cultural space in the country.
In late 2014, Ukraine ratified the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement which entered into force on September 1, 2017. The Agreement includes the separate chapter 24 “Culture” with 4 articles, which give the list of obligations of the sides in the field of culture, including, inter alia, the proper implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of 2005.
In 2016 Ukraine joined the European Union “Creative Europe” programme for support to the culture and audiovisual sectors.The Ukrainian cultural, audiovisual and creative sector got the opportunity to operate across Europe, to reach new audiences and to develop the skills needed in the digital age, also contributing to safeguarding cultural and linguistic diversity.
In 2017 the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF) was set up with the aim to provide the equal access to funding for the governmental and non-governmental institutions, to overcome the gap between them and to free the Ministry of Culture from the extrinsic function of spreading the money between the cultural actors. The UCF is aimed at facilitating the creation of modern Ukrainian competitive cultural and artistic projects. Expert selection, funding and monitoring of the cultural projects, supported by the UCF are the key tasks of the Foundation.
In 2017 the Cultural Leadership Academy - the educational programme aimed at cultural managers training and continuing education was introduced.
In 2017 the Concept “Decentralization: sector Culture” was also presented setting up the strict indicators of the decentralization reform in Ukraine in the cultural sector. This enabled to develop a roadmap for the further decentralization in the cultural sphere and to involve the regions, cities and towns as well as the communities into the process.
The outstanding feature of Ukraine is the deep respect for the ethnic, confessional and cultural peculiarities of its citizens. The State of Ukraine keeps the tradition of peaceful coexistence of all the nations’ representatives, constantly taking care of their rights protection.