As part of the partnership support of the British Council as part of the Great Britain/Ukraine Season of Culture, representatives of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design took part in the international forum "Creative Ukraine: The Power of Sustainability". The forum took place on December 7-8 in Kyiv at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.
The international forum "Creative Ukraine" is the largest platform in Eastern Europe aimed at discussing the public policy features in cultural spheres and creative industries. Every year, the event brings together several dozen speakers from upwards of 10 countries. Politicians, creative entrepreneurs, international economic and cultural experts, and government representatives work closely to determine the most effective ways of forging an economy based on innovation, talent, and creativity.
The organizers of this year's forum were the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Among the partners of the event are the British Council in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute of Books, Ukrainian Fashion Week, Design4Ukraine, the Office for the Development of Creative Industries at the MKIP and others. The focus of the forum is on the role of creative industries in the liberation war of Ukraine and their contribution to the victory, as well as on the perspective of the near future, which brings new challenges.
Over the course of two days, panel discussions and sectoral modules were held, where the following issues were discussed:
What is the importance of creative industries during wartime?
Can we already talk about the project of the future of Ukrainian culture today? What principles will it be based on?
What are the priorities for directing resources (state, international donors, private sector) to support Ukrainian culture and the creative sphere?
Will it be possible to preserve the main resource of creative industries — creative specialists?
What tools should be put in place to strengthen the capacity of the creative industries, apart from financial ones?
What role will creative industries play in the post-war future and in what way can they contribute to overcoming the consequences of war? All questions were revealed during the work of sectoral modules: "Creative industries. Plan for the Recovery of the Country"; "Folk art crafts. Traditions. Development. Export"; "Fashion. Wartime fashion industry. Aesthetics of resistance"; "Book publishing. Part 1: Ukrainian book institute: achievements and goals of the state book policy"; "Part 2. Sell abroad: what and how"; "Part 3. New titles from Ukraine: recommendations and practical information for publishers and literary agencies"; "Creative industries as the heart of the project of the future of Ukrainian culture after the war"; "Resistance of the invincible: creative help to the front"; "Voices of War: Between Art and Creative Industries"; "Ukrainian Institute. Discovering Ukraine: what the rediscovery of culture can give to the world"; "We are at the front"; "Design. Design of changes"; "Ukrainian Cultural Fund".
"Nowadays, everything Ukrainian is under the watchful eye of the world. And if at the beginning of the war we still thought about whether concerts and cultural events were appropriate now, we soon realized that they are mandatory. They show who we are, what we protect, what we fight for. It was also important for us to show that Ukrainian culture is part of the world. So if we lose, the whole world will lose. In addition, it seems to me that Ukrainians themselves now look at their culture differently. They are finally cured of their inferiority complex in relation to Russia," said First Lady Olena Zelenska.
The forum began with an inspiring speech by Sviatoslav Vakarchuk. He sang "Hug Me". This song was often heard in the first days of the war. Today, she continues to inspire Ukrainian soldiers and all Ukrainians.
"It is snowing, there is no electricity, there is no communication, but there is great optimism in the hearts of Ukrainians. Victory is not just ours; it will come much sooner than we imagine. This is due to the Ukrainian people, soul, Ukrainian spirit and resistance, but also Ukrainian ingenuity and creativity, which we are talking about today," said the leader of the "Ocean Elsa" group.
According to Matti Maasikas, Ambassador of the European Union, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, war primarily imposes restrictions.
"Everything became black and white, people became different. Ukraine is not Russia. Ukrainian culture has declared itself; it is becoming universal. "Palyanytsia" distinguishes us from them. Ukrainian culture declares itself to be prosperous and progressive. Culture contributes to a country's resilience. Gives her the opportunity to become a better vision of herself. Forum "Creative Ukraine". The key word is "creative". Because creativity helps rebuild infrastructure, destroyed or damaged monuments. We continue to work for the Ukrainian cultural sector," he said.
In the first part of the forum "Partners for the development of culture and creative industries of Ukraine", the partners for the development of culture and creative industries of Ukraine - participants of the first module - addressed the participants of the event with words of support. Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy, moderated this conversation.
Among the participants: Piotr Glynski, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland; Simonas Kairys Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania; Nicholas Thomas, director of the British Council in Ukraine; Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
Among the main speakers of the sectoral modules, Evgenia Kravchuk - People's Deputy of Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev - Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Secretary of the National Council for the Reconstruction of the Country, Tymofiy Mylovanov - president of the Kyiv School of Economics, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Halyna Hryhorenko - deputy minister of culture and information policy, Katya Silchenko - founder and creative director of the COAT by Katya Silchenko brand. Member of the Expert Committee of the Ukrainian Fashion Council. "The best designer of women's clothing" (Best Fashion Awards 2021), etc.; graduates, stakeholders and teachers of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design:
Ivan Frolov - founder and creative director of FROLOV. Member of the Expert Committee of the Ukrainian Fashion Council.
Iryna Danilevska - co-founder and CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week. Head of the Expert Committee of the Ukrainian Fashion Council.
Today, Ukraine is an example of stability and indomitability throughout the world. Representatives of Ukrainian creative industries, together with their country, continue to defend freedom. Fight on all fronts, including creative ones. After all, culture and creative industries are already laying the foundation for the future project of the nation and the development of its culture.
You can watch the live broadcast of the forum on the Creative Ukraine YouTube channel. https://linktr.ee/CreativeUkraine2022
11.12.2022
