On April 1, the eighth meeting of the Bureau of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO was held, with the Chair of the National Council, Olha Herasymiuk, participating as Chair of the Communication and Information Sector. The meeting addressed the activities of the Commission’s sectors in the first quarter of this year, further plans, and the tasks of the Ukrainian delegation for participation in the 224th session of the UNESCO Executive Board, to be held in April in Paris.
Ukraine will participate in this session as a member of the Executive Board for the first time in the past ten years, for the period 2025-2029. Therefore, it is important for our country that the issue of the war be a cross-cutting theme for the delegation members, emphasized in her opening remarks Mariana Betsa, Chair of the Commission and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.
She announced the initiative of the Ukrainian side to submit for consideration by the Executive Board the issue of commemorating within UNESCO the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy. “This was the first and most terrible man-made disaster in human history, with security consequences for many countries of Eastern and Western Europe.” Taking into account its humanitarian significance and the need to preserve the historical memory of the tragedy, Ukraine is working to consolidate international support for the adoption of the relevant decision at the UNESCO level.
Mykola Movchan, Deputy Permanent Delegate of Ukraine to UNESCO, informed about the main items on the agenda of the 224th session of the Executive Board. He emphasized the importance of representing Ukraine’s interests within UNESCO platforms and of active participation in shaping the organization’s programmatic policy.
For Ukraine, the most important issue of the session will be the action and UNESCO’s emergency assistance programme for Ukraine. The Organization is currently undergoing a reform process to ensure that its activities and mandate correspond to the available resources, which remain limited. At the same time, this financial hardship should not affect the programmes for Ukraine, as they are funded through voluntary contributions from Member States.
The meeting also addressed the preparation of the visit to Ukraine by UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany in the second half of this year.
Anatolii Khromov, Head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine and member of the Communication and Information Sector of the National Commission, reported that in recent years a vast number of KGB archives concerning Chornobyl – including the construction of the nuclear power plant – have been declassified.
Olha Herasymiuk reported on the results of the activities of the Communication and Information Sector in the first quarter of this year and outlined the priority tasks ahead. She highlighted the exceptionally active and productive work of the national subcommittee “Memory of the World,” which is now commencing the creation of a national register of documentary heritage.
In addition, the joint project with UNESCO “Resilience and Well-being of Ukrainian Media Professionals at Wartime” is ongoing. It is aimed at supporting media workers who, due to the specific nature of their work, often face psychological exhaustion and professional burnout. At present, a study of the condition of media professionals has been conducted, as well as training activities to develop practical self-support skills.
The National Committee for Cooperation with UNESCO’s IPDC Programme and the diplomats of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to UNESCO submitted a proposal to the working group of this programme to consider the protection of journalists in times of war and crisis situations worldwide as an important narrative.
The Chair of the National Council informed that, within the framework of the visit to the 224th session of UNESCO’s Executive Board, her meeting is planned with the newly elected Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Mariya Gabriel, as well as participation in the meetings of the Programme and External Relations Commission and the Finance and Administrative Commission. The meetings will address issues related to the implementation of the support programme for Ukraine in the fields of media, communication, access to information, freedom of expression, and the protection of cultural heritage.
