On May 27, 2025, the International Scientific and Theoretical Conference
“Current Issues of Monument Protection Activities in the Context of the Socio-Economic Recovery of Ukraine”,
was held, organized by the Institute for Cultural Research of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine to implement the topics of fundamental scientific research
“Cultural Dimension of Monument Preservation Activities: Status, Perspectives and Innovations”
та “Creative Resource of Cultural Economy: Culturological Dimension”.

The conference was held online and was attended by foreign specialists in the field of culture, practitioners, scientists and scientific and pedagogical workers from higher educational institutions, scientific institutions of a cultural and artistic direction from various cities of Ukraine.

In her welcoming speech to the conference participants, the Director of the Institute for Cultural Research of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Academician, Professor Hanna Chmil emphasized that cultural heritage plays an important role not only in cultural processes, but also in the formation of Ukrainian national identity, the right to which is now being defended by our soldiers on the fronts of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Culture is the foundation upon which societies are built, identities are formed, and values are nurtured, and war not only destroys the material and intangible manifestations of culture, it destroys the very spirit of peace that underlies it. Preservation of culture in times of war becomes not only a matter of protecting artifacts, but also a struggle for the preservation of humanity, for its ability to develop, coexist, and, ultimately, for its future. At the same time, in the perspective of post-war reconstruction, it is important today to develop new norms of interaction in society in order to establish justice and affirm human freedoms. Hanna Chmil also emphasized the importance of further accumulating research experience in the field of cultural heritage protection and cultural economics.

John CROWLEY, Chairman and CEO of PHDG Group (Paris), former Head of the Research, Policy and Forecasting Section of the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO, in his speech focused on the issue of the global information campaign in support of defining culture as a separate goal in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program after 2030. As you know, the SDGs 2015–2030 program consists of 17 goals. Culture, as John Crowley noted, is undoubtedly present in each of the identified goals related to the sustainable development of humanity, but the current situation in the world, including the war in Ukraine, requires giving culture, as the basis of peace, special importance, as it was emphasized at the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development (Mondiacult), held in 2022 in Mexico City, and this will also be discussed at Modiacult-2025, which will take place in Barcelona at the end of September this year. In conclusion, John Crowley called on the participants to join the broad discussion of this issue and provide their suggestions.

Anastasiia Petsenchuk, Head of the cultural and educational direction of the Analytical Center “Institute of Legislative Ideas”, presented analytical materials and regulatory and legal developments of the Institute of Legislative Ideas in the field of cultural heritage protection, focusing, in particular, on critical problems in the field of legal regulation of monument protection activities in Ukraine, identified through a comparative analysis of national and international legislation in this area and extensive discussion with experts. The results and conclusions are compiled in the “White Paper”, an analytical document presented by the rapporteur.

Oleksandr Butsenko, advisor to the directorate of the Institute for Cultural Research of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine; Olga Kolyastruk, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Culture, Methods of Teaching History and Special Historical Disciplines of Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University; Iryna Petrova, Doctor of Cultural Studies, Professor, Professor of the Department of Event Management and Leisure Industry of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Research Fellow at the Cologne/Bonn Academy in Exile (Germany) presented their reports during the plenary session.

In general, the thematic areas of the conference covered a wide range of scientific-theoretical and scientific-practical issues, in particular: monument protection activities in the context of global threats of modernity; representation of the cultural heritage of Ukraine in the context of modern historical and cultural processes; cultural heritage in the system of socio-economic priorities of modern Ukraine; assessment, restoration and revitalization of cultural heritage; cultural infrastructure and monument protection strategies; memory infrastructure in the context of decolonization processes.

The participants’ speeches were accompanied by lively discussions and debates.

Summing up the work of the conference, the participants concluded that more attention should be paid to research aimed at changing approaches to adapting cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, to the conditions of modern Ukraine, effectively introducing relevant objects into socio-economic relations, cultural infrastructure, as well as their usage with a view to achieving sustainable development goals.

	Information letter (in Ukrainian) (PDF)
	Conference program (in Ukrainian) (PDF)