Mykola Tochytskyi.Photo: suspilne.
Mykola Tochytskyi, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, shared alarming data on cultural figures travelling abroad. During the discussion of the New Country project organised by LB.ua and EFI Group on the topic “Ukrainian culture as one of the main tools of our victory”, he noted that one in five cultural representatives who receive permission to leave from the Ministry of Culture do not return to Ukraine, LB.ua reported.
The situation with the departure of cultural figures
“In recent years, it has been necessary to create a framework that would make it easier for artists to travel abroad. But unfortunately, there is no such base at the moment. Every day I review about 100 applications for departure, and most of these people are not familiar to me, which makes me spend a lot of time checking them,” the minister explained. According to him, out of the five people who have left, one is not returning, which underscores the complexity of the situation in Ukraine’s cultural sector.
Protection of cultural heritage as a condition for European integration
Tochytskyi also drew attention to the importance of protecting cultural heritage on the path to European integration. “UNESCO and the EU have numerous claims to us regarding the protection of our cultural heritage. Without implementing their directives, we cannot hope to succeed in our EU accession negotiations,” he said. The minister stressed that he does not support the idea of decentralisation in the preservation of heritage sites, as this could lead to less attention to important issues such as the definition of buffer zones.
Cultural development strategies
During the discussion, the minister stressed that each area of culture needs a separate strategy. “We are working on these strategies, and in March 2025 we will be ready to present five key areas of development,” he added.
As a reminder, Mykola Tochytskyi, a career diplomat, became the head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine in September 2024, when its previous name was the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
