In 2019-2022, the Ukrainian Institute organized 18 events and projects of cultural diplomacy in 7 cities of the country: Berlin, Kiel, Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Cologne, including film screenings, theatrical readings, and productions, visual art exhibitions, artistic residencies, concerts modern and classical music, literary events, etc. Establishing a representative office will significantly strengthen Ukraine's cultural presence and systematically cooperate with Germany's cultural, educational, and scientific institutions. So, in 2023, it is planned to implement 18 projects and programs.
"The world's unprecedented attention to Ukraine opens up new opportunities for cultural diplomacy. The strategy of the Ukrainian Institute envisages the establishment of foreign branches in key European countries, on which our team has been working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies of Ukraine for a long time. Understanding the urgency of the challenges caused by the full-scale invasion of Russia, we have developed a transitional model of the representative office - a project office that will start now and, over time, will develop into a full-fledged branch of the Ukrainian Institute in Germany," Volodymyr Sheiko, CEO of the Ukrainian Institute, is convinced.
Germany is one of the priority countries of activity of the Ukrainian Institute and is an important European partner of Ukraine. The office in Berlin will contribute to a better understanding of Ukraine in German society and popularize Ukrainian culture. We are convinced that "soft power" is the key to wider military, economic and humanitarian support.
The establishment and opening of the representative office became possible thanks to the tripartite cooperation between the Ukrainian Institute, the Goethe Institute and the Alliance for Open Society International ("Open Society" Foundation) with the assistance of the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany.
In 2023, the representation team will consist of three people: a manager, a project manager and a communication manager, who will be selected through an open competition.
