First team of cultural first aiders created in Ukraine – photos

Ukraine has put together its first national team for rapid response to damage to cultural monuments. The team consists of 22 Ukrainian specialists who underwent training between April and July 2024.

The team was established as part of a project called Enhancing Capacities in Ukraine for Cultural Heritage First Aid and Recovery Planning, the news agency Ukrinform has reported, citing Anastasiia Bondar, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy.

"A total of 1,085 cultural heritage sites were destroyed or damaged between 24 February 2022 and 25 June 2024... We are constantly monitoring the situation and consulting with our foreign partners, such as ICCROM [the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property], which has created a network of over 2,000 expert cultural first aiders in more than 120 countries," Bondar said.

ICCROM, in collaboration with Ukraine's Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, has therefore launched a project aimed at enhancing emergency preparedness and planning for the restoration of all types of cultural heritage.

"During the training, our goal was to determine preventive measures to safeguard Ukrainian cultural property from all impact factors, ranging from environmental hazards such as floods to missile attacks; how we can help people in such extreme danger conditions; and how to assess the damage that has been done," said Aparna Tandon, Head of the ICCROM Cultural Heritage First Aid and Recovery Planning programme.

Representatives from 11 Ukrainian oblasts attended the training, which was delivered by Ukrainian and foreign experts. The attendees gained practical experience in assessing and managing damage at sites such as the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Viazivka, Zhytomyr Oblast, which was destroyed by Russian attacks in March 2022. They learned techniques for documenting damage, evaluating risks, and implementing safety and stabilisation measures for damaged heritage sites.

Ihor Poshyvailo, Director General of the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, said the training had provided an opportunity to acquire practical skills in cultural rescue. "This combination of experts can go on to initiate the establishment of grassroots networks to save culture," Poshyvailo believes.

Background: In early June this year, Ukraine joined the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the first time. The Ukrainian delegation was elected during the 10th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. Its member states work together to develop recommendations for the protection of cultural heritage.

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