In Solidarity With Ukraine: the second delegation of foreign cultural activists visited Ukraine

PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute have hosted the delegation of writers and cultural activists from France, Belgium, and Latvia. This is the second visit within the program In Solidarity With Ukraine. The participants are expected to become ambassadors of Ukraine abroad, creating materials for the international media and launching projects of support.

Throughout the week, professor and writer Denis Pepic, filmmaker and journalist Olivier Truc, war correspondent Olivier Weber, writer and author of articles Emmanuel Carrer, and writer and volunteer Jānis Joņevs met the representatives of Ukrainian cultural and human rights organizations, servicepeople, journalists and artists, and got acquainted with social and cultural context of the country.

"It again surprises me how Ukraine is not scared. You keep smiling and creating. This gives me an answer to the eternal question about the usefulness of art. If art exists during the war - so it is important," says Jānis Joņevs, Latvian writer.

The delegates also got acquainted with Kharkiv, its history and architecture, and saw firsthand the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine. "Resistance in Ukraine is also in the hearts and in the art. The people I met from Kharkiv to Kyiv and Odesa show me how they organize this spirit of resistance, through culture and heritage. Having covered for my books and reports nearly twenty wars in the world, I've rarely seen such a determination an organization. Your struggle for freedom is ours," shares Olivier Weber, French writer, reporter and war correspondent.

The participants also met representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the Crimean Platform. They spoke about Crimea, about how important it is that the crimes of deportation of Crimean Tatars were researched by foreign journalists, and about the consolidation of support for Ukraine. Amongst cultural organizations, they got acquainted with activities of the Book Arsenal, Dovzhenko Center, National Art Museum of Ukraine, and Khanenko Museum, visited the Ukrainian House, Knanenko Museum, and Suspilne.

In Kharkiv, the delegation members Emmanuel Carrer, Olivier Weber, Olivier Truc and the Ukrainian literary scholar Tetyana Ogarkova participated in the public event "The Republic of Literature. French Writers in Kharkiv". The conversation about the war, Ukraine, Europe, and justice included reading of the French poetry and was moderated by Volodymyr Yermolenko, philosopher, writer and president of PEN Ukraine. It took place within the program In Solidarity With Ukraine and the Fifth Kharkiv project and was supported by the UkraineWorld and Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. The Fifth Kharkiv project is implemented by Kharkiv Literary Museum with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

"This journey helped me recognize what I have read from a greater distance about the war. It also allowed me to discover the cultural and cognitive aspects thereof, the focus on art production and art management, the emotional aspects, and the grand strategy of both the state and civil society," says Denis Pepic, Belgian professor and writer.

By the end of the year, the Ukrainian Institute and PEN Ukraine are going to host two more delegations – from Spain and Netherlands.

The program In Solidarity With Ukraine was implemented by PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute with the support of Prague Civil Society Centre. Information partner of the program – Espreso TV Channel.