First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the VII International Forum "Creative Ukraine". 2024 – Rethinking. Culture.
It takes place at the Kyiv Academic Drama Theater on Podil.
The event aims to demonstrate how a new Ukrainian culture and creative industries are being redefined and born in the crucible of war, and how these industries contribute to Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.
Throughout the day, creative entrepreneurs, international experts in culture and economics, representatives of government and civil society discuss the development of optimal ways to form a creative economy in Ukraine on two stages.
"In the third year of the enemy invasion, our culture is developing. In the cities where sirens are constantly heard, theaters are crowded at the same time. I was amazed by the figure that during these difficult months of resistance in Ukraine, according to the theater union, more than 600 new performances were staged! And perhaps there has never been a Shevchenko Prize as powerful as this year's. Some of its winners are now in the trenches. One of the slogans of our All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program is "Turning Pain into Strength." This is exactly what our modern culture does," Olena Zelenska said in her address to the forum participants.
She emphasized the important steps in the field of culture that promote Ukraine's voice and position in the world. The President's wife emphasized the importance of decolonizing the names and heritage that had been appropriated by the empire for centuries. She emphasized that every signature under Malevich's painting that he was a Ukrainian artist is not just the restoration of historical justice. It is another powerful voice of Ukraine in the world. Our country has been elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and the historic center of Odesa has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, which already includes St. Sophia of Kyiv, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, and the historic center of Lviv, the First Lady said.
"Last year, Scythian gold returned to our homeland. Ukraine has official representation at the world's artistic venues – the Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, the Berlinale, and the first Malta Biennale. It also participated in nine world-class book fairs in Warsaw, London, Frankfurt, and Latin America. During the resistance, the Ukrainian Book Institute supported the publication of more than 130 new books. And I am proud that they will be available all over the world – on Ukrainian bookshelves, which we have already opened in 190 libraries in 46 countries and the UNESCO Library," the President's wife said.
"In total, these are 47,000 books that will also become our voices. 82 world museums and attractions in 42 countries have already started speaking Ukrainian as part of the project to introduce Ukrainian audio guides. On the one hand, this is the voice of the homeland for our forced migrants. But it is also the voice of Ukraine, a country that protects not only its own, but also world culture and civilization from modern barbarism," Olena Zelenska summarized.
She urged the participants to work to make Ukraine's voice heard in the world through its culture.
The International Forum "Creative Ukraine" is the largest platform in Eastern Europe for discussing public policy in the field of culture and creative industries. Every year the event brings together several dozen speakers from more than 10 countries. Politicians, creative entrepreneurs, international experts in culture and economics, representatives of government and civil society join the event to develop the best ways to build a creative economy in Ukraine. The event has been held since 2017.
The forum is supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, and the Creative Industries Development Office at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.