Ukraine gets its first national team of cultural first aiders thanks to the EU
With support from the Creative Europe programme, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property has trained the very first team of cultural first aiders in Ukraine.
To address the critical situation created by the war and to help safeguard Ukraine’s remaining cultural heritage, the European Commission granted €100 000 to the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) to train the country’s very first team of “cultural first aiders”.
Following three online modules held in May and June 2024, 23 participants from 9 oblasts (regions) in Ukraine gathered in Kyiv from 5 to 14 July 2024 for an in-person training. The training equipped participants with the skills and knowledge to provide first aid and planning recovery for movable, immovable, and intangible heritage.
As part of this training, more than 103 icons, textiles and paintings from the church of Viazivka damaged during the ongoing conflict were salvaged. Part of the fallen structure and salvaged building parts and decorative elements that can be integrated at the time of restoration were also stabilized.
About the project
ICCROM started the capacity development project “Enhancing Capacities in Ukraine for Cultural Heritage First Aid and Recovery Planning” within the framework of their flagship programme, First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR).
The Ukraine training scheme is supported by the European Commission’s Directorate-General of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC), and organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine (MCIP), the Agency for Cultural Resilience (ACURE), the Maidan Museum, and the Heritage Emergency Response Initiative (HERI).
By establishing a network of trained cultural first aiders and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, this initiative aims to support the preservation and resilience of Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage.