The protection of cultural heritage in times of crisis or war, as part of efforts to improve emergency preparedness and resilience, was the focus of the informal meeting of Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Culture in Helsinki on Tuesday 6 May.
The Ukrainian Minister of Culture, Mykola Tochytskyi, attended the meeting as a special guest and had the opportunity to discuss with his counterparts the strengthening of regional cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries and Ukraine on the resilience, protection and accessibility of cultural heritage.
The meeting aimed to continue the dialogue between the Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Culture, which was initiated almost a year ago at the relevant meeting and conference in Stockholm.
The meeting, organised on the joint initiative of Finland and Åland, was hosted by Finland’s Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie. In addition to the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, the meeting was also attended by the ministers responsible for culture in Denmark (Jakob Engel-Schmidt), Iceland (Logi Einarsson), Norway (Lubna Jaffery), Sweden (Parisa Liljestrand), Åland (Annika Hambrudd), the Faroe Islands (Eirikur í Jákupsstovu), Estonia (Heidy Purga), Latvia (Agnese Lāce), and Lithuania (Šarūnas Birutis).
Finland's Minister of Science and Culture, Mari-Leena Talvitie, stated that “Regional co-operation in the protection of cultural heritage strengthens citizens’ trust and society’s resilience. Co-operation promotes democracy and openness in society and binds its residents together. That's why it's important that we develop preparedness expertise in the cultural sector both nationally and together with our neighbouring countries in a cross-sectoral manner”.
During a roundtable discussion, Ministers were briefed on the critical situation in Ukraine. They also discussed the measures that each country prioritises to protect cultural heritage in times of crisis or war, and the link between cultural heritage protection and national defence.
Due to the informal nature of the meeting, no decisions were taken, but the development of cooperation on the basis of last year's joint declaration of the Ministers of Culture entitled "Nordic-Baltic Ministerial Declaration on the Role of Culture and Cultural Heritage for Democratic and Resilient Societies" was reaffirmed.
The joint declaration of Stockholm recognised “culture and cultural heritage as pillars for vibrant and democratic and resilient societies – societies that protect human rights, celebrate diversity, freedom of expression and respect heritage as a foundation for collective memory based on facts”.
It also pointed out that “in armed conflicts, culture and cultural heritage are deliberately targeted as means to erode identity and weaken the resilience of people and countries. This underscores the importance of intensified contingency planning to secure and protect cultural heritage, and maintaining cultural activities in the event of crisis, heightened state of alert or war”.
Μore specifically in the declaration, the Ministers of Culture:
- Emphasised the great importance of cultural cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries.
- Recognised the importance of a free and vibrant cultural life for maintaining resilient and democratic societies.
- Declared strengthening preparedness in their countries as a high priority in order to protect cultural heritage and maintain cultural activities in the event of crisis, heightened state of alert or war.
- Emphasised specifically the importance of exchange of knowledge and experiences of national expertise to strengthen the Nordic and Baltic preparedness of the cultural sector.
- Condemned Russia’s continuing military aggression against Ukraine, in flagrant violation of international law, and its deliberate attacks against Ukrainian civilians and civilian objects, including the destruction and damage of Ukrainian cultural, historical, and religious sites and cultural heritage.
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Photo credits: Katarina Koch / Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland
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