The Flemish government has allocated €250,000 to support Ukraine’s cultural sector, Culture Minister Caroline Gennez announced on Tuesday.
The funds will support initiatives such as mobile libraries and literary translations into Ukrainian.
Gennez emphasised that one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s explicit aims is to destroy Ukrainian identity and culture. She highlighted that through this financial support, Flanders is contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine’s cultural sector by enabling local initiatives focused on mental wellbeing and resilience through art and culture.
The funding is being channelled through the United Nations agency UNESCO, which has launched an action plan to support Ukrainian culture. The agreement was signed on Monday at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.
Specific projects include programmes aimed at improving the mental health of war veterans through art and culture. Funding will also go towards providing mobile libraries to areas where access to books has been disrupted.
The action plan additionally seeks to boost the literary sector by facilitating Ukrainian translations. Ukrainian writers and translators are expected to participate in the Passa Porta Festival in Brussels next March.
