The OBMIN Foundation’s international conference, “Resilient Culture. Cultural Resilience,” took place at the War Museum with the support of over 20 partners, including government institutions, diplomatic missions, and non-governmental organizations from Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. The event brought together government officials, diplomats, cultural figures—including representatives from more than 160 museums in Ukraine and Poland—journalists, and prominent opinion leaders.
Opening remarks were delivered by Yurii Savchuk, Director General of the War Museum, and Małgorzata Ławrowska – von Thadden, Chair of the Polish OBMIN Foundation. The opening was accompanied by speeches from diplomats representing countries leading international efforts to protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage: Piotr Łukasiewicz, Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine, and Maximilian Rasch, Chargé d’Affaires of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine.
Ivan Verbytskyi, Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine, and Yevheniia Kravchuk, Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, highlighted the challenges currently facing the cultural sector due to military actions and terrorist attacks by the aggressor, one of which occurred on the eve of the conference.
Olena Stokoz, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross, spoke on behalf of non-governmental organizations.
Key issues addressed during the panel discussions included the significance of culture as a foundation of identity and a component of national security, the rescue of cultural heritage amid threats posed by russian aggression, and the establishment of effective international cooperation within the sector. Representatives from foreign and Ukrainian institutions exchanged experiences, highlighted critical issues, and discussed steps toward further mutual cultural integration.
Museum Director General Yurii Savchuk participated in the panel “Lessons Learned: How to Act in Conditions of Unpredictability. Museum Management in Times of Uncertainty.” His fellow panelists included Jolanta Gumuła (POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews), Tomasz Ostrowski (National Museum in Kraków), Nataliia Rebrova (National Architectural and Historical Peserve “Ancient Chernihiv”), and Olena Zemliana (National Museum of the History of Ukraine). The session was moderated by Helén Rönnlund, Chair of Blue Shield Sweden and former Director General of the National Swedish Museums of Military History, a dedicated advocate for Ukrainian-Swedish museum cooperation and a great friend of Ukraine.
Yurii Savchuk emphasized that the Museum must become a natural and comfortable space for visitors, reflecting the full diversity of modern Ukrainian society. He specifically drew attention to plans for the Museum’s renovation and the development of two new museum spaces: the Museum of Military Technologies and the Museum of russian (soviet) Propaganda. To fund these projects without relying on the state budget, the Museum is securing resources from financial companies, charitable institutions, NGOs, and the wider public.
The Museum extends its sincere gratitude to the OBMIN Foundation and personally to its head, Małgorzata Ławrowska – von Thadden, for the partnership and the opportunity to co-organize this landmark event and participate in discussing the challenges of the Ukrainian cultural sector at an international level.
