12.09.2024

The Forum brought together representatives of cultural and educational institutions in Ukraine. Among the participants were Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, Head of the UNESCO Office in Ukraine, and Hallvard Gorseth, Head of the Anti-Discrimination Department of the Council of Europe. They made presentations on the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage at the international level.
In his speech, Mykola Tochytskyi, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, emphasised: ‘Today, the Ukrainian Kobzar is at the forefront, and the primary task of our ministry is to find ways to make this clear to the whole world’.
Oles Sanin, Vice President of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, presented the Duma project, which aims to promote the Ukrainian kobza tradition: "The enemy destroys armies, fortresses and states, but it cannot destroy songs, customs and cultures. If there is at least one person left who sings our song, the song of freedom, then one day someone will be born who will hear and understand it. He will gather the army again, recapture the fortresses and return our freedom and our state. Kobzars have believed in this idea since ancient times, and it is our job today to preserve and pass on our song of freedom."