Report creation date: 14.10.2008 - 11:56
Countr(y/ies): Ukraine
Chapter(s): 1,2,21,22,23,24,241,242,243,244,245,246,3,31,32,33,4,41,42,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,4210,43,5,51,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,519,52,53,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,5310,6,61,62,63,64,7,71,72,73,8,81,811,812,813,82,821,822,83,831,832,84,841,842,9,91,92

Ukraine/ 1. Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments

After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, a "Ukrainian People's Republic" was proclaimed and was led by outstanding personalities from the cultural field. However, this first Ukrainian state was short lived. Just four years later, in 1921, the Ukraine came under Soviet totalitarian rule, which lasted for 70 years. During this period of time, cultural expression was one of the main driving factors contributing to Ukrainian nationalism and, therefore, it was frequently subject to persecution and oppression.

Although the official Soviet propaganda declared this period the "Golden Age" of national cultures it was in fact characterised by the forced deportation of entire cultural communities (Crimean Tatars, German settlers in Ukraine) and severe repression of the nationalist intelligentsia. Compared to other territories of the former Soviet Empire, the persecution of the bearers of national ideas in the Ukraine was more wide-spread and of greater brutality. Whereas the population of the Ukrainian SSR constituted only about 17% of the total Soviet Union population, the share of Ukrainians among the "prisoners of conscience" in the Soviet GULAGs (concentration and labour camps) was more than 50%.

Shortly after the Second World War and during the first half of the 1950s, Ukrainian cultural policy was subject to the principles of the totalitarian state. This included strict centralism. Cultural institutions acted as intermediaries between the official state ideology and society. Through the ideological departments of the central and local communist party committees, the state decided which kind of culture was necessary for the people, and saw to it that cultural and artistic events remained on the "correct" political course. All artists associations and unions (writers, painters, theatre workers, and architects) were administrated by the state through respective party units operating within these institutions. Independent artists or artists' organisations could not exist outside of this framework. The state also controlled all amateur arts, popular and other non-professional or voluntary organisations in the cultural field. Private cultural entrepreneurship officially didn't exist.

Regardless of these conditions, great efforts were made to disseminate the achievements of world culture among all strata of the Ukrainian population. A lot of attention was paid to the cultural education of young people and to the development of young talents. There was also broad support for amateur and folk art activities and for book publishing. At the regional level, a vast landscape of cultural infrastructure was created and supported by additional budget subsidies. Their operations were not, however, guided by principles of efficiency or meeting the real needs of the communities involved.

On the 24th August, 1991, the Ukraine became an independent national state, signified by the Parliament's (Verkhovna Rada) approval of the Declaration of Independence of the Ukraine. This Act coupled with the results of the All-Ukrainian Referendum of December 1 1991, when more than 92% of the citizens voted for independence, put an end to ideological dictatorship and created the conditions necessary for the comprehensive development of a national culture.

There was, however, a drastic decrease in public support for culture due to political instability, the economic crisis, and contradictions between democratic goals and market conditions. The cultural infrastructure inherited from the Soviet period is gradually being destroyed and culture has become marginalised in comparison to other policy areas.

The lack of a clear medium-term and long-term cultural development strategy resulted in the creation of ad hoc policies at the central and local levels. They are aimed, in most cases, at preserving the existing situation. This situation, along with declarations about false achievements, has provoked indifference and distrust in a large part among the artistic community towards the government.

Dissatisfaction within the Ukrainian society became apparent, especially after the events of the so called "Orange Revolution". During the first "post-Orange" months, many meetings, conferences and round tables were organised by dissatisfied artists and cultural producers. Many appeals, requests and letters to change the situation were adopted and submitted to the President and the government. As a result, some new structures (public boards) were established at the Ministry of Culture and in the Presidential Secretariat.

The Presidential Edicts of 24 November 2005, N 1647/2005, proclaimed that "ensuring the enrichment and development of culture and spiritual heritage of the Ukrainian society is one of the high-priority tasks of the Cabinet of Ministers". In accordance with the Edict, the National Board for Cultural Affairs (NBCA) was established as an advisory body by the President of Ukraine. The NBCA, together with the Presidential Secretariat, elaborated a draft operation plan - "The Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society" - defining three key strategic priorities. They are:

integrity of the national linguistic and cultural space;
update national cultural heritage, and
protection of national cultural industries.

The Ministerial Report "State Cultural and Tourist Policies Implementation: Priorities, Achievements, Perspectives - Analytical Report for 2006 of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine" adds another key priority: the integration of Ukrainian culture to the global cultural space and shaping a positive image of Ukraine in the world by cultural means.

The Presidential Edict of 2 December 2005, N 1688/2005, approved the Regulations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, which determined the main tasks of the Ministry. In particular, this edict concerns the formulation and realisation of the state policy in culture, tourism, leisure activities and linguistic issues. Despite these developments, the general situation is changing very slowly.

In May 2007, the Council of Europe adopted the National Report on Cultural Policy in Ukraine (CDCULT(2007)14), along with the Experts' Review (CDCULT(2007)15), becoming the 27th country to complete the procedure for CoE review. As the minister of culture and tourism of Ukraine, Mr Bohutsky, stressed: "The most important achievement of our activities in 2006-2007 is, of course, the National Report successfully presented in the Council of Europe" (Ukrainian weekly "Mirror of the Week", July 7-13, 2007).

The head of the experts' group, Terry Sandell, stated that: "This review of cultural policy in Ukraine seems to be particularly timely. In the heady days of the early period of independence there were lively and often contentious debates on national culture. These continue, but since then the inevitable gaps have become evident between, on the one hand, the aspirations and on the other, the realities imposed by "transition", even when the aspiration has simply been to try to preserve the basic cultural infrastructure of the country... It can be reasonably argued that in a new socio-political climate and some fifteen years after independence this is a good time to take stock of where Ukraine has come from and where it is going and ask bold questions about the extent to which cultural policy is addressing current and future agendas and to what extent it is rooted in the past...We hope this special context might augur well for confident, inclusive, pragmatic, on-going debate on cultural policy in Ukraine and be the catalyst for the identification and pursuing of some helpful and appropriate new departures and experiments". (You can find both texts of National Report and Experts' Report on http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_cooperation/culture/policies/reviews/Ukraine.asp#TopOfPage or on http://www.mincult.gov.ua - Ukrainian versions).

In August-September 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, jointly with the independent Development Centre "Democracy through Culture", started a cultural policy debate campaign through briefings and press-conferences, professional meetings, international meetings and seminars (for example: "Cultural Ecology of a Region", Lviv, October 25-26), training, surveys and questionnaires (for example, the All-Ukrainian Marathon "21 strategic dilemmas of cultural policy" - see also: http://www.forum21.org.ua).

In December 2007, the democratic majority formed the new government in Ukraine, which approved the governmental programme "Ukrainian breakthrough: for people, not for politicians". The new Cabinet of Ministers adopted amendments to the section "Cultural development of society" of its programme at the meeting as of January 16, 2008. Five priority action lines are determined:

development of the language-cultural space as a basis for social cohesion and understanding between Ukrainian citizens;
preservation and actualisation of the national cultural heritage;
creation of proper conditions for activity of leading national institutions and groups in the field of visual, music, choreographic, theatre, circus and film arts, training of professional personnel for theatre, cinematography, TV and circus;
state protection of cultural industries of Ukraine by supporting national cultural product and market development; and
development of Ukrainian culture respectively to global integration trends providing wider access to achievements of the world culture and presenting national culture in the world context.

To revitalise and preserve memory of Ukrainian nation is determined as a separate priority through actions to homage victims of the Famine 1932-1933.

See also chapter 3.3 and chapter 4.1.

Ukraine/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.1 Organisational structure (organigram)

Cultural policy in Ukraine rests upon three pillars: government (Cabinet of Ministers), Parliament (Committee on Culture and Spiritual Heritage) and the President's Secretariat. The National Board for Cultural Affairs (NBCA) (see also chapter 1 and chapter 2.2) plays an advisory function. In September-October 2007, following experts' recommendations, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine concluded an agreement with the independent non-governmental Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" concerning cultural policies and international collaboration development as a pilot model of public agencies' co-operation with third sector players.

The general scheme of cultural policy-making in Ukraine is presented in the organigram below. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is an active player in formulating international cultural policy and the cultural image of Ukraine. The State Committee on Information Policy, TV and Radio Broadcasting plays an important role in the interaction of culture with the media.

Organigram of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine:

Ukraine/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.2 Overall description of the system

On the basis of the Presidential Edict of November 2005, N 1647/2005, the National Board for Cultural Affairs (NBCA) was created at the President of Ukraine as an advisory body. The NBCA submits proposals concerning the national cultural policy to the Presidential Secretariat, Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament, representing the interests of all cultural groups and minorities. NBCA organises working groups on different cultural issues, involving independent experts. At the same time, there are contradictions in the Board's activities: it has the status of a civic organisation, but formed by a Presidential Edict, has no rotation of members who are mainly state or establishment representatives.

Cultural institutions and their responsibilities are regulated by the Constitution and by special laws.

According to the Constitution (Article 85), the responsibilities of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) are to:

approve laws (including laws on culture);
adopt the state budget;
develop guidelines on national and foreign policies;
approve national programmes of social and cultural development; and
approve lists of units not subject to privatisation.

The Permanent Committee on Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Verkhovna Rada is the main body responsible for the design and development of cultural laws.

Three bodies hold executive power over cultural matters:

the Chief Service for Humanitarian Policies of the Presidential Secretariat;
the State Committee on Humanitarian and Social Issues of the Cabinet of Ministers; and
the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is mainly a financial administrative unit which allocates funds to above 120 state cultural institutions (theatres, museums, libraries, film studios, higher schools, etc.) and to a number of nation-wide festivals and events. As international experts stated: "...while the base and the context have changed fundamentally in Ukraine, the expectations remain and the Ministry of Culture is often seen as a 'funding body' that should fund everything" (CDCULT(2007)15. p.36).

The Ministry has 306 staff, including four subordinate services: State National Heritage Service, State Control of National Values and Displacement, State Service for Tourism and Resorts, and State Film Service. The Ministry has an advisory and controlling public body called the Collegium, which consists of heads of Ministry departments / services and representatives of (mostly state-owned) cultural institutions and associations.

The system of public administration for culture is made up of 24 oblasts (regions) and 2 cities (Kyiv and Sevastopol). The basic units of administration are rayons (counties) which are under the supervision of the oblast or city cultural administrations. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea has its own Ministry of Culture, which is responsible to the Cabinet of Ministers of the AR of Crimea.

The existing cultural administrative system is inherited from Soviet times, and therefore cultural policy is mainly characterised by ad-hoc responses to political situations. Recent debates revealed the necessity of a more flexible and improved structure for the cultural administration, which could form the core of future cultural policy planning. The debates about the necessity to create some type of arms-length bodies are still theoretical and there is no financial strategy in place to support such developments.

The central issue is the advocacy of culture and cultural activities (modern culture) leading to the new role of the Ministry and other cultural public bodies. "It therefore makes sense for the Ministry actively to cease presenting itself as a 'funding body' but to engage in a responsible public relations exercise to change perceptions of its function and simultaneously look at and develop what are its current strengths, future potential and what is needed to meet the challenges faced by a modernising state" (CDCULT(2007)15. p.37).

In January 2008, the Ministry of Culture developed new agreement on collaboration between the Ministry as a central agency, and oblast state administrations. Financing joint actions on the expense of state budget and local budgets shall be executed according to requirements of budget laws with obligatory attraction of other sources (by formula 50%+25%+25%).

Ukraine/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.3 Inter-ministerial or intergovernmental co-operation

A number of ministries and public agencies are involved in cultural affairs (including funding). According to the Law on the 2007 State Budget, 19 different units are involved in cultural spending, especially the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Committee on Information Policy, TV and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, the Ministry of Regional Development and Building (established in 2007), and the Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport.

The latter adopted more than 300 programmes that were developed by experts and NGOs concerning intercultural dialogue in terms of children, women and families for 2007, e.g. "Youth is going to Europe" (Christian Democratic Youth), "European Time" (Socialist Congress of Young People), "We are Ukrainians" (New Youth Initiatives), etc.

On 10 September 2007, a lesson on gender equality was given in all secondary schools of Ukraine with assistance from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport. At the same time, such once-only events are realised separately, not as a part of a wide campaign on gender equality.

In September 2007, with assistance from the Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport of Ukraine, the Festival of medieval Ukrainian culture was organised in the village of Urych (Lviv region) where various participants were presented: children and adults, NGOs and public organisations, guests from Russia, Poland, and Byelorussia.

In 21 June 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism signed an Agreement on cooperation with the State Committee on Information Policy, TV and Broadcasting. The film industry, book publishing, visual arts, libraries and museums, and exhibition activities were determined among priority lines for this cooperation. To implement established tasks, a consulting council involving representatives of both ministries was created. This council should, first of all, make monitoring of joint activities and analysis of achieved results.

Within the framework of the CoE regional programme "Kyiv Initiative", an inter-ministerial committee was established in 2007 including representatives of several ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Regional Development and Building, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, State Committee on Information Policy etc. The mentioned regional programme envisages the democratic development through culture in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Each country will realise jointly various projects ("Cultural policy and cultural exchanges", "Wine routes", "Cross-border cinema culture", "Urban rehabilitation") under supervision and with support of the respective inter-ministerial commission as a common mechanism for programme development.

The principal partners of the Ministry of Culture are:

Ministry of Finance (budget spending programmes);
Ministry of Economy and European Integration (development programmes);
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (international relations and promotion of Ukrainian culture abroad);
Ministry of Education and Science (art and aesthetic education and research);
Ministry of Justice (laws on culture);
Ministry of Regional Development and Building (culture development at regional and local level);
Ministry of Labour and Social Security (social protection);
Ministry of Building, Architecture and Housing and Communal Services (monuments and natural reserves);
Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport (intercultural dialogue); and
State Committee on Information Policy (media and book publishing).

Different national cultural programmes or events are carried out in co-operation with regional, rayon or city authorities. Following the adoption of the Budget Code of Ukraine (2002), 691 local governments independently formed relations with central government agencies and received funding for projects of national significance.

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.1 Overview of main structures and trends

One of the top priorities of state policy is to promote the integration of the Ukraine into the European and the global cultural context. Different instruments are used to reach this aim: participation in and organisation of international festivals, exhibitions, seminars, artistic tours, days and years of culture, etc. Examples of this type of activity are: the International Arts Festival Kyiv Travnevy, International Festival of Medieval Culture Lutsk Castle's Sword, International Theatre Festival Melpopmene of Tauria, International Film Festival Molodist, Days of Culture French Spring in Ukraine, Multicultural Festival Halychyna, International Linguistic Burago Conference, Year of Ukraine in Georgia, Month of Japan in Ukraine, Days of Israel in Ukraine, etc.

In recent years, Ukraine signed different agreements, programmes and plans on cultural and tourism co-operation with approximately 70 countries, including Moldova, the Czech Republic, Byelorussia, Ireland, etc.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism takes part in approximately 30 bilateral intergovernmental committees. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Ukraine and the EU entered into force on 1 March 1998. Today, Ukraine sees its main task as consolidation of the European values and standards in political, economic and social spheres, including culture and heritage. Ukraine is a unique state outside of the EU which celebrates regularly the Day of Europe.

The Priority Tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for 2005 contain, among others:

"Task Six: Ukrainian Culture in the World. - Entering the World Civilisation Space. Ukrainian culture should become recognizable in the world. Ukrainian artists and academics can rely on assistance and help to participate in international forums and movements. We will be concerned with overcoming the present isolation of the Ukrainian intellectual and creative elite from the basic networks and channels of communication and modern civilisation processes. We are ready to assist the participation of representatives of education, science, culture, and the mass media of Ukraine in international non-governmental organisations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be concerned with the participation of Ukrainian citizens in international years and world campaigns to be declared by international organisations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will facilitate both the creation of organisation principles and the initiation of activities for the information and cultural centres of Ukraine".

"The Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society" determines, among its high-priority tasks, the realisation of Days of Culture in a number of countries, such as Azerbaijan, Syria, Israel, Moldova etc. One of the aims of the Law of Ukraine on the Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine (2005) is "to ensure Ukraine's proactive cultural representation in the international area, development of international cultural ties, Ukraine's integration and meaningful participation in the global cultural processes". This objective is one of the strategic priorities of the Ministry, confirmed by the Ministerial Collegium in July 2007, on considering the approval of the National Report of Ukraine by the Council of Europe.

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.2 Public actors and cultural diplomacy

In recent years, responsibility for international cultural collaboration has been distributed on the central level between the following agencies:

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (cultural events, exchanges, heritage, diaspora, minorities, cultural values, tours, intercultural dialogue);
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (promotion and international relations);
Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport (youth culture, intercultural dialogue, sport);
State Committee on Information Policy, TV and Radio Broadcasting (media, TV, books, advertisement); and
Ministry of Education and Science (student culture and education).

The newly established Ministry of Regional Development and Building is empowered to develop international cultural collaboration on the regional level. At the same time, regional or local authorities can develop international collaboration independently or with support from central governmental agencies e.g. organising artistic tours, festivals, conferences, etc.

International cultural agencies and institutes play a very important role in the Ukraine, by developing cultural dialogue and supporting Ukrainian artists through different projects. Besides artistic events (e.g. concerts, exhibitions, master classes, film weeks), the British Council, Swiss Cultural Programme / Ukraine (Pro Helvetia), Swedish Institute, French Cultural Centre, and the Polish Institute support translations into Ukrainian, publish bulletins and manuals, and organise arts management training courses. Pro Helvetia organises two cooperation projects in Ukraine with local partners (The Centre of Applied Cultural Management - in Odessa and Model 21 - in Kyiv). The Swedish Institute has started a large cultural programme in the Ukraine for 2006-2008, which includes arts projects and a series of seminars on cultural policies and intercultural dialogue (see also chapter 2.4.5). The British Council has organised, jointly with a Ukrainian partner (the Development Centre "Democracy through Culture") and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, the all-Ukrainian survey of cultural policy issues based on the CoE publication Balancing Act: 21 strategic dilemmas of cultural policy (by Ch. Landry and F. Matarasso) adopted to the Ukrainian situation (see also chapter 1, chapter 2.4.1 and http://www.forum21.org.ua).

On the governmental level, the major instruments used efficiently in international cultural relations are still co-operation treaties, especially bilateral treaties on years of culture or some joint events (forums, festivals, days of culture).

The most important recent developments in the field of cultural education and training in Ukraine are: activities of the Centre of Applied Cultural Management (Odessa); publications in Ukrainian of works on cultural policy and arts management by the British Council, the Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" (with support of the ECF), the Polish Institute and Renaissance Foundation; training sessions with local and international experts organised by "Democracy through Culture" jointly with the Swiss Cultural Programme in Ukraine (for the local level) and the Swedish Institute and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine (for the regional level); and the pilot project for cultural strategy development in the city of Lviv realised from September 2007 by the Art Management Centre (Lviv) and the ECF.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, jointly with the independent Centre "Democracy through Culture", plans to carry out educational and training seminars for different levels of cultural administrators and cultural practitioners, as well as for cultural branches involving international experts and trainers within the frames of "Kyiv Initiative" programme and in pursuance of recommendations submitted in the Experts' Report (see also chapter 1).

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.3 European / international actors and programmes

On 11 May 2007, the Council of Europe adopted the National Report of Ukraine in the cultural field. It allows, not only to construct a new cultural policy in Ukraine with assistance of European experts, but also to participate actively in different European programmes and projects. Two CoE programmes involving Ukraine are the "Kyiv Initiative" and Intercultural Cities. The latter will start in 2008 in 15 pilot cities selected among 45 European cities-applicants with exchange of best practices and mapping exercises to study multicultural assets. Ukrainian city Melitopol is among selected cities.

The concept for the "Kyiv Initiative" programme was approved at the 5th (Enlarged) Ministerial Colloquium under the STAGE Project of the Council of Europe on 15-16 September 2005 in Kyiv. The key organisers of the Colloquium were the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine. The major goal of the colloquium was to help the participating countries to develop a new dynamic cultural policy and strategy in the context of transitional conditions of development, to promote the development of cultural exchange and cooperation with other European countries, and to enhance the level of tolerance and reconciliation through intercultural dialogue. The Concluding Declaration of the Colloquium includes the "Kyiv Initiative" of 5 nations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The concept was further developed at the Bucharest Ministerial Conference to launch the "Kyiv Initiative" Regional Programme on 15 December 2006. During 2007, the programme was structured and the project lines determined. At the 6th Meeting of National Programme Co-ordinators in Strasbourg as of November 20-21, 2007, participating countries discussed General Terms of Reference and project lines (see also chapter 4.2.2). The next meeting is planned in Kyiv, Ukraine, in February 2007. For more information see: http://www.coe.int/t/e/culturalcooperation/culture/policies/kyiv/Summary.asp#TopOfPage

Ukraine became a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 12 May 1954. Ukraine's Permanent mission to UNESCO has operated since December 1962, with its headquarters in Paris. Recent years have shown active engagement of Ukrainian institutions and experts in the work of UNESCO's global projects in the fields of: development of the information society, protection of the world information and digital heritage, democratisation of cyberspace, guaranteed sustainability of the world's development, and securing tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the era of globalisation. One of the main aspects that determines Ukraine's role in UNESCO's activities is the country's participation in the work of this institution's leading initiatives. The 50th anniversary of Ukraine's membership in UNESCO was celebrated in May 2004. The jubilee stamp and 5 hryvnia metal coins were issued on that special occasion. An exhibition of modern Ukrainian Decorative Art was organised at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. One of the vivid examples of Ukraine-UNESCO cooperation is the International Scientific and Educational Centre of Information Technologies and Systems that operates in Kyiv. One of the new projects deals with establishing a model for a virtual university that will share scientific, technical and engineering knowledge developed by the institutes and universities of Central and Eastern Europe; it will be monitored Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

Ukraine takes an active part on an official and non-official level in all cultural activities of the Black Sea countries, including festivals, meetings and joint activities such as Slavic Bazar in Vitebsk (Byelorussia) and Vilnius' Intellectuals Forum.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine are entrusted with the responsibility for implementing and monitoring the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. However, there is no special programme related to these issues, only an intention in one line of The Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society.

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.4 Direct professional co-operation

Professional co-operation is developed in four main ways:

Cultural exchanges supported by international foundations, participation in cultural events, competitions or festivals. For example: In the summer of 2006, the Polish Institute in Ukraine and the Theatre L. Kurbas Centre in Kyiv organised a performance of the Polish theatre "Academy of Movement", in the Kyiv fortress Slanting Caponier, with master classes given by Polish actors. In the summer of 2007, the Polish Institute and the Art Center "Mystetsky Arsenal" organised an exhibition of performance art with the participation of Polish, Ukrainian and Byelorussian artists; also in 2007, within the framework of the Swedish-Ukrainian project SWIZHE, Swedish and Ukrainian artists from different fields (theatre, poetry, music, visual art, photo) created common productions and presented them in Ukraine and Sweden.
Commercial projects: for example, tours of Ukrainian singers or artists abroad or seasons of B.Zholdak theatre in Germany and the UK. On 5-7 October 2007, the IV International Art-Festival "Salt Symphony" was held in the city of Soledar (Donetsk region), in a salt mine. Concerts by Ukrainian, Austrian, and Turkish musicians and singers took place at a depth of 288 metres. This project was initiated in 2004 and supported by the Austrian Embassy in Ukraine, Donetsk Regional Council, the President of Ukraine and several sponsors. The price of a ticket for one day of the festival was 300 euro.
Days of culture, months of culture or years of culture, when events with cultural professionals are organised by public bodies. For example: from 25-27 August 2007, cultural events were organised in Georgia (Batumi) within the framework of the Year of Ukraine in Georgia. Ukrainian and Georgian professional artists participated in these events organised by the two ministries of culture, including the music group "Kyiv Soloists", ethno-house group "Dakha-Brakha", the Theatre of Modern Choreography "Constellation of Aniko", Ukrainian film-makers, Batumi State Chavchavadze Drama Theatre, and the Georgian Peoples' Film Center, etc.
Cultural events between local communities within the framework of traditional programmes like town-twinning, cross-border co-operation, etc.

The Ukrainian government prepared a resolution on an agreement reached between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Polish government, concerning collaboration in the field of tourism. According to the Agreement, the Ukraine and Poland will try to simplify border and customs formalities, encourage co-operation between businessmen and enterprises for developing collective and individual tourism.

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.5 Cross-border intercultural dialogue and co-operation

Governmental programmes to support trans-national intercultural dialogue activities are concentrated mainly in three fields:

special programmes for developing cross-frontier relations, e.g., "days of good neighbourhood" among border towns or villages which are organised jointly in cooperation with local administrations;
the development of culture and information centres in foreign countries to present Ukrainian culture; and
support to specific groups: Crimean Tartars, Roma, etc.

The Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport supports trans-national activities of young people, granting them necessary travel funds to participate in meetings and discussions abroad. Such activities also receive support from the Ministry of Science and Education (training courses) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (young artists' travel).

During 2006-2007, more than 70 Ukrainian students had the opportunity to study in educational centres of the countries of the Visegrad group (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland), with the help of Visegrad Fund (http://www.visegradfund.org).

There are different NGOs operating in the cultural sphere in the Ukraine and are engaged in trans-national dialogue activities e.g. the New Music Association (Odessa), Arabesque Theatre Studio (Kharkiv), Association of Art Galleries (Kyiv), Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" (Kyiv). Working actively with local authorities, sponsors, international foundations and, sometimes, with central agencies, these NGOs realise many projects based on trans-national collaboration e.g. museum training courses (Association of Art Galleries, with support of the Dutch programme Matra); Model 21 - creation of arms-length bodies at the local level; development of international joint projects (DC "Democracy through Culture", with support from the Swiss Cultural Programme - DEZA, Pro Helvetia); literary meetings and co-productions of modern authors from different countries (Arabesque with support from the Swedish Institute).

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section.

Ukraine/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.6 Other relevant issues

In general, about 10 million Ukrainians live abroad. The Ukrainian Diaspora's relationship with its historical motherland is realised through the organisation "Ukraine". The magazine "Ukrainian Diaspora", published by the National Academy of Sciences, plays an important role to encourage these relations. The largest Ukrainian Diaspora is located in Russia, with a population of 4 379 690. Many Ukrainians live in Moldova (13.8% of its population), Romania, Poland, Canada (more than 1 million), USA, UK, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and other countries. In general, the Ukrainian Diaspora can be divided in two types: the old Diaspora in Canada, USA, Argentina and Australia, mainly homogeneous in its national and social composition, and a new one, mostly in Russia and Europe, representing various ethnic and social groups of modern Ukraine (so called work seekers).

The state policy of Ukraine aims to support the Ukrainian Diaspora. To this end, on 24 September 2001, a Presidential Decree approved the programme "Foreign Ukrainians" for the period 2001 to 2005. In 2006, the State Committee on Humanitarian and Social Issues approved a new state programme to encourage collaboration with foreign Ukrainians, up to the year 2010.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine has a special department "Ethnos Culture and Diaspora" which is responsible for cultural relations with foreign Ukrainians. In August 2006, the 4th World Congress of Ukrainians was held in Kyiv with the participation of the President of Ukraine.

There is a special budget programme "Measures for establishing cultural relations with the Ukrainian Diaspora", executed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine. In 2006, UAH 5.1 million (850 000 euro) from the state budget was allocated to this programme.

Approximately 30 laws and by-laws regulate state policy related to foreign Ukrainians, including the Constitution of Ukraine (1996), Declaration of the Rights of the Nationalities of Ukraine (1991), Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Ukrainians (2004), Law on Immigration (1994, 2001), Law on Introducing Changes into Regulations regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2005), Law on the Establishment of a National Committee for Foreign Ukrainians (2004) and others.

Ukraine/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.1 Main elements of the current cultural policy model

Existing cultural policy is based on the Constitution of the Ukraine (1996), Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture of Ukraine (1992, with amendments), Conceptual Guidelines of Executive Authorities Concerning the Development of Culture (1997), the Law on Local Self-Governance (1997), Budget Code of the Ukraine (2002, de-centralised financing), the Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine (2005) and the Presidential Decree on Top Priority Measures to Enrich and Develop the Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society (2005).

According to the Budget Code, basic cultural services are provided and financed through local administrations including support for libraries, houses of culture, clubs, museums, theatres, exhibitions, etc. This means that local authorities are theoretically entitled to formulate their own cultural policies. However, due to many adverse factors, the newly adopted decentralised model is inefficient and declared government objectives are left unfulfilled (see also chapter 3.3). Some of these adverse factors include:

lack of a comprehensive common cultural policy model to co-ordinate the goals and aspirations of the different regions and cities;
the legacy of totalitarian isolationism precluded access to the universal cultural heritage and still has an adverse impact on the current cultural situation;
inadequate financial resources and the lack of alternative ways of financing culture;
the non-existence of any arms'-length institutions or public bodies to distribute allocations for culture. The newly established NBCA (see also chapter 1 and chapter 2.2) only provides an advisory role;
cultural institution are unable to meet modern requirements and there is a lack of defined standards for state-guaranteed, free-of-charge cultural services; and
non-governmental and commercial organisations in the cultural sector are too weak to exert influence on the political decision-making process.

"What seems to be missing in Ukraine at the moment is a penetrative system of recognised information channels, regular briefings and, in some cases, training for cultural practitioners and those implementing or affected by new legislation" (CDCULT(2007)15, p.30. The Ministry of Culture is trying to reform the situation through special legal seminars for ministerial officials (during 2006 there were 16 courses), round tables, and official information distribution among regions.

Ukraine/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.2 National definition of culture

There is no national definition of culture confirmed by law.

The Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture does, however, offer the following definition of cultural values: "cultural values include objects of material and spiritual culture having artistic, historical, ethnographic or scientific importance".

The same definition can be found in the Law on the Removal, Import and Restitution of Cultural Values (1999).

Ukraine/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.3 Cultural policy objectives

The Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture proclaim the following objectives:

guaranteed cultural rights and access to cultural values;
freedom of expression, creation of conditions to enable citizens, especially young people, to participate in cultural life;
regeneration and development of the culture of the Ukrainian nation and the cultures of national minorities on the territories of the Ukraine;
support to professional artistic activity;
preservation and protection of the cultural heritage;
provision of cultural diversity;
creation of favourable conditions for the development of non-governmental and non-commercial cultural organisations;
support to domestic (national) producers of cultural products; and
popularisation of Ukrainian culture in the world.

While reflecting the priorities of the Council of Europe, they have not yet been sufficiently pursued due to economic and political reasons (see chapter 3.1). The Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine 2005-2007 (adopted in 2005) envisages the following objectives:

to develop a cultural development document and a conceptual framework for a long-term national cultural policy;
to recognise cultural development as a priority objective of the public administration and local governments;
to overcome the existing gap between the improved socio-economic situation and the poor quality of public services in the cultural sphere;
to elaborate an effective and efficient model of allocating financial and other resources for cultural development by the use, in particular, of cultural and historical heritage as an investment resource;
to create an auspicious economic and legal environment for the development of the cultural industries;
to identify the nation's cultural resources and set up a unified information environment (including an inventory of cultural heritage, mapping of cultural resources and analytical research materials);
to provide a set of conditions for the conservation, sustainable use and enrichment of cultural heritage;
to replace the outdated command style of cultural management with one based on partnership and creativity by distributing powers and responsibilities more effectively, by involving the public in policy decision making, and by shifting the focus from management governed by rules to management governed by results; and
to ensure Ukraine's proactive cultural representation in the international arena, development of international cultural ties, Ukraine's integration and meaningful participation in global cultural processes.

The Governmental Development Programme for 2006 determines the preservation of historical and cultural heritage as a key priority of cultural policy.

The Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society defines three key strategic priorities (see also chapter 1). They are:

developing the integrity of a national linguistic and cultural space (strengthening the Ukrainian language in main spheres of social life, encouraging the Ukrainian media and cultural institutions to satisfy the information and cultural needs of Ukrainian people);
updating the national cultural heritage (revival of historical and cultural relics, traditional folk culture and crafts, development of cultural tourism); and
protecting national cultural industries (increasing presence of national cultural products and services in the market, satisfying the cultural demands of society through the formulation of a favourable investment and tax system).

integration of Ukrainian culture in the global cultural space, shaping a positive image of Ukraine in the world by means of culture (see also chapter 1).

The Ministerial Report outlines also the "optimal version of the state strategy for cultural development:

to combine increased budget support with encouraging charity, patronage, and entrepreneurship in culture;
to combine the administrative reform of governing structures in culture with the introduction of new, competitive and transparent funding mechanisms;
to combine protectionism in terms of the national cultural industries with measures directed to shaping the integral national linguistic and cultural space".

In his report to the All-Ukrainian conference on cultural development on 21 June 2007, the Minister of Culture and tourism stressed that: "Our challenge today is using the available experience, financial and material base to start moving away from a cultural life based on a model of survival (typical at the time of crisis in the 1990s and which had continued on the regional level, in remote areas) to shaping a model of sustainable development of Ukrainian culture as a full component of the European and global cultural space".

The new Cabinet of Ministers adopted amendments to the section "Cultural development of society" of its programme at the meeting as of January 16, 2008. Five priority action lines are determined:

development of the language-cultural space as a basis for social cohesion and understanding between Ukrainian citizens (elaboration of the doctrine on Ukrainian culture and draft law on culture, elaboration and adoption of the concept on language policy and new version of the law on languages);
preservation and updating of the national cultural heritage (elaboration of the draft law on amendments to the law of preservation of the cultural heritage, creation of the first line in building of the Cultural-Art and Museum Complex "Artistic arsenal", increase at least twice in budget expenses for museums, libraries and reserves);
creation of proper conditions for activity of leading national institutions and groups in the field of visual, music, choreographic, theatre, circus and film arts, training of professional personnel for theatre, cinematography, TV and circus (general raising of the quality and social status of art education, strengthening support of national creative associations);
state protection of cultural industries of Ukraine by supporting national cultural product and market development (elaboration of the law on national cultural product, establishment of stimuli and grant system); and
development of Ukrainian culture respectively to global integration trends providing wider access to achievements of the world culture and presenting national culture in the world context (development of supporting system for literary translations, support of Ukrainian artists participation in international actions).

Ukraine/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.1 Main cultural policy issues and priorities

During the last years, cultural policy was mainly determined by fiscal and administrative reforms. The main aim was to decentralise areas of state policy. The next steps would be to provide culture assignments to local governments backed by the necessary funds and to define guaranteed public services in the field of culture. Such steps were debated, among other issues, at parliament hearings on culture in 2002, 2003 and 2005. The main issues of cultural policies concentrated on the following practical tasks to:

develop a funding model for culture. Resources to be derived from different government levels;
delegate basic cultural responsibilities to local governments as part of a strategy to de-monopolise the cultural administration system;
transform the state-owned cultural institutions into private bodies; and
create favourable conditions for the development of cultural industries (book publishing, film production, audio and video industries, concert activities) and providing direct state support to national cultural producers.

Cultural policy priorities during this period included:

preservation of the historical and cultural heritage. In 2000, the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage was adopted; in 2004 amendments to the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage were adopted in the first reading (see chapter 4.2.9). In 2005, the Law on the Ratification of the Agreement on the Displacement of Cultural Values was adopted. The following draft laws were elaborated and submitted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to the government and the parliament of Ukraine during 2005-2006: Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Museums; Law on Joining the International Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage; Law on Approval of the List of Cultural Monuments which can not be Subject to Privatisation; Law on Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine in Connection with the Approval of the Parliament; Law on Amendments to the Law on State Programme for Cultural Heritage Protection;
preservation of existing cultural institutions through government support. In 2005, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the resolution On Banning the closure of Social and Cultural Institutions in Rural Areas;
support to folk and amateur arts, especially in the regions, through festivals and all-Ukrainian performances;
support to cultural diversity and cultures of national minorities. In 2001, the Department of Ethnic Groups and the Ukrainian Diaspora and the State Committee on Nationalities and Migration were established in the Ministry of Culture;
support to national performers. In 2003 the Law on Touring Activities in Ukraine was adopted envisaging a fee from touring activities of foreign performing artists or groups by 3% rate applied to proceeds from tickets;
create favourable conditions for the adoption of a socially agreed, long-term programme of cultural development in the Ukraine; and
support for national film-makers. In 2002, the Law on the State Programme for Development of the National Film Industry for 2003-2007 was adopted. Parliamentary Hearings on the concerns of the national cinematography sector were held in 2005 and 2006.

On 5 March 2005, the Parliament adopted the Law on the Conceptual Framework of the Public Policy of Ukraine for 2005-2007, which was signed by the President on 29 March 2005. The Conceptual Framework "aims to lay the foundation for a new approach to the understanding, development and implementation of cultural policy, helping to overcome the current adverse trends in the national cultural situation" (see chapter 3.1). The Framework states that over the next three years, the implementation of cultural policy shall be focused on the following priorities:

designing and executing educational and cultural programmes for children and youth;
defining, discussing and approving standards for state-guaranteed cultural services, as well as sources and scopes of their funding;
discussing and agreeing on the fundamental notions of the national cultural policy; ensuring their subsequent legislative endorsement;
supporting cultural development in rural areas;
ensuring a supportive environment for the development of the cultural industries, cultural tourism and a cultural services market;
developing a registry and a map of Ukraine's cultural resources;
setting up a system of horizontal and vertical partner relations within national development programmes in the cultural sphere;
forming a unified information framework in the cultural sector and establishing a comprehensive database of analytical resources; and
developing international partnerships.

In February 2003, the Public Council comprised of representatives from the state, non-governmental, and private cultural organisations, associations, centres and foundations as well as independent artists and experts was established in the Parliament Committee on Culture and Spiritual Heritage. A similar Public Council was formed within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Ukraine in 2005. The main objective of such agencies is to enlarge participation in decision-making and policy implementation processes. The National Board for Cultural Affairs was formed at the end of 2005, on the basis of a Presidential Edict.

In May 2007, the Council of Europe adopted the National Report on Cultural Policy in Ukraine (CDCULT(2007)14), along with the Experts' Review (CDCULT(2007)15). Having examined how the Ukrainian system had operated for the previous 16 years, the international experts stated that: "the time is now ripe for moving to a new basis and completing what is described in the report as semi-reforms" (CDCULT(2007)15, p. 52).

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine determined cultural policy priorities for the short-term, at a briefing on 13 September 2007:

improvement of the pay-roll system in culture;
transparent and fair allocation of funds to regions, taking into account cultural needs;
development of new relations with regions on the basis of special agreements;
development of new relations with the NGO sector on a contractual basis;
establishment of favourable conditions for cultural products and services (changes in state procurement rules);
special leasing regime for culture and social organisations in cities; and
European cultural integration and participation in different projects and programmes.

The Cabinet of Ministers determined at its meeting as of January 16, 2008, that the government will support the formulation of the state cultural policy by following lines:

development and approval of the National Culture Development Programme for 2008-2012, elaboration of respective regional programmes;
development and introduction of state social standards for cultural services guaranteed by the government and their financial provision per capita; and
creation of conditions for efficient use of budget funds, that is:
formulation and execution of cultural expenses from state and local budget mainly on the basis of programme-targeted method;
using procedures of open competition for determining executors of state culture and art programmes and projects; and
establishment of the National endowment for Ukrainian culture as an instrument to attract sponsor, donor, charitable and investment funds and their integration with budget funds as "supplementing grants".

With the objective to use efficiently the unique cultural potential of Ukraine, to raise image of Ukraine in the world the government will promote the development of tourist and resort branch, the creation of competitive national tourist product. The government will:

elaborate the strategy of sustainable tourism and resort development in Ukraine; and
develop and adopt the Conceptual Framework and the State targeted programme on tourism, resort and recreation development up to 2015.

See also chapter 4.3.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.1 Cultural minorities, groups and communities

Ukraine is a multinational state, with a long established tradition of peaceful multiethnic coexistence. According to the last census (2001), representatives of more than 130 nationalities are residing in Ukraine. On 1 August 2007, the population of the Ukraine was 46.2 million. The Ukrainian population is 37.12 million and cultural minorities constitute about 9.68 million or 20.73%. The main minority groups in Ukraine are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Main minority groups of the Ukraine, 2003

Main minority groups	Number	% share of total
Russians	8 334 100	17.58
Byelorussians	275 800	0.58
Moldavians	258 600	0.55
Crimean Tatars	248 200	0.52
Bulgarians	204 600	0.43
Hungarians	156 600	0.33
Romanians	151 000	0.32
Poles	144 100	0.30
Jews	103 600	0.21
Armenians	99 900	0.21
Greeks	91 500	0.19
Tatars	73 300	0.15
Roma	47 600	0.10
Azerbaijanians	45 200	0.09
Georgians	34 200	0.07
Germans	33 300	0.07

Source: State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, 2003

The existing legislation defines all Ukrainian citizens ("Ukrainian people") as belonging to two major categories: either the ethnic Ukrainian majority ("Ukrainian nation") or one of "national minorities", without distinguishing indigenous nations (for example, Crimean Tatars), autochthonous groups or "classical" national minorities (Russians, Jews, Romanians, Hungarians, Roma, Greeks etc.), and Diaspora groups, or ethnic minorities that have arrived in the Ukraine following recent migration processes.

There are several sub-ethnic groups in Ukraine, which, historically, are closely linked with the Ukrainian nation. Due to specific geographical and regional conditions, however, and, mainly, due to influences of various states and empires under whose jurisdiction they had developed over considerable periods of time, they now have different traditions, customs, dialects, etc. These include Hutsuls, Boyky, Lemky - from the Carpathian region, Polischuky - from the Polissia region, and Carpathian Ruthenians. The latter, on behalf of their leaders and some representatives of the Ruthenians diaspora in the USA, Canada, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, try to obtain recognition of Ruthenians as a separate nation or, at least, a national (autochthonous) minority.

Shortly after independence in August 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukraine condemned the offences of the Soviet regime towards national minorities and declared the recognition of international norms of law in this sphere in a document entitled, Appeal To Ukrainian Citizens of All Nationalities.

In November 1991, the Parliament of the Ukraine adopted the Declaration of Rights of Nationalities in the Ukraine, which provided rights to minorities to pursue their respective language and culture. In the same year, national minorities also took part in a referendum on the independence of the Ukrainian state.

The Constitution of the Ukraine declares in its Article 11 that "the state provides support for the development of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious originality of all indigenous nations and national minorities of the Ukraine".

Rights of national minorities are also represented in:

Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture (1992);
Law on Publishing (1997);
Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting (1993);
Law on State Support to Mass Media and Social Protection of Journalists (1997); and
Law on Local Self-Governance in Ukraine (1997).

There are also some other official documents providing policy instruments in this field including a Presidential Edict (September 21, 2001) on Measures Supporting the Activity of National and Cultural Societies and two Cabinet Ministers' Decrees:

Approval of the Programme on Adaptation and Integration into Ukrainian Society of Deported Crimean Tatars and Persons of Other Nationalities, and the Development of Their Culture and Education (January 10, 2002); and
Approval of the Program Providing Social Development and Adaptation of Crimean Tatar Young People in 2002-2005 (January 2002).

In 2002, 785 cultural associations of national minorities were established in the Ukraine (as compared to 431 in 2000). They take part in umbrella organisations such as the Council of National Societies of Ukraine, the Association of National Cultural Unions of Ukraine, and the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine.

According to the data of the State Committee of Ukraine on Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting, 169 periodicals for national minorities were registered in Ukraine in February 2002. They are mainly founded and supported by local governments, national societies and / or private persons. Among monolingual periodicals of ethnic groups which live in one or another region of the Ukraine are: "Polacy Donbasu" (newspaper of the Polish Culture Society located in the Donbass region), "Yanyi Dyunya" (Crimean Tatar newspaper in Crimea), "Slavic Sun" (Bulgarian newspaper in the Zaporizhia region), "Zorile Bukovinei" (Romanian newspaper in the Chernivtsy region), and "Karpati Igas So" (Hungarian newspaper in the Zakarpatian region).

Annual celebrations of national cultural days and annual festivals of national cultures take place in all regions. Such festivals as Seven Cultures in the city of Kamianets-Podilsk, Friendship in the Mykolayivska oblast, Koreiada in the city of Simferopol, Melodies of Salt Lakes and the International Festival of Roma Art in the Zakarpatska oblast are well-known far beyond the Ukrainian borders.

In 2006, the Union of Armenians of the Ukraine, one of the largest Diasporas, celebrated its 5th anniversary by organising the First All-Ukrainian Contest "My Armenia". More than 270 people from all regions of the Ukraine took part in the competition.

In June 2006, a Ukrainian arts presentation on the theme "1956-2006: from revolution to Europe", on the culture of Hungarians from the Carpathian region, was held in Kyiv, Lviv and Sevastopol.

In September 2007, the IV All-Ukrainian Festival of art groups of civil German organisation in Ukraine - "Zonenstral-2007" - was held in Kyiv, organised by the Association of Germans of Ukraine and with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.

These and similar festivals and cultural events, supported, as a rule, by central and local governments, become peculiar brands of specific territories and contribute to debates on national identity.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.2 Language issues and policies

According to the Constitution of the Ukraine (Article 10), the official language is Ukrainian. The same article guarantees the free development, use and protection of Russian and other languages of national minorities.

The Law on Languages in the Ukrainian SSR adopted in 1989 remains the main legislative document regulating language policies in the Ukraine. The Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture and other laws in the cultural and educational sphere (e.g. on Education, Information, Television and Radio Broadcasting, and Advertising) are based upon its provisions. The Presidential Edict on Improving State Management in Information, of 26 September 2005, (№1338/2005) entrusted the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine with the task of developing a state language policy. A special subdivision was established in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to develop a language policy for Ukraine. The first steps of the Ministry were 1) the procurement of Ukrainian-language literature for public libraries in 2005, in the amount of UAH 20 million (USD 4 million), and in 2006, in the amount of UAH 5.1 million; and 2) adopting the governmental resolution Some Issues Concerning the Order of Film Distribution and Exhibition (2006), which determines quotas in the dubbing and subtitling of foreign films.

In 2006, the Working Group completed the Draft Concept of State Language Policy of Ukraine, which was presented in the media for public discussion. During 2006, more than 20 special cultural actions were organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to support the Ukrainian language. At the same time, non-governmental organisations and artists carried out a promotional campaign "Let's speak Ukrainian!" supported by central information agencies and TV.

According to the 2001 census, 67.5% of the population of the Ukraine consider Ukrainian their native language and 29.6% name Russian as their native language. According to social monitoring studies undertaken by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences, the Ukrainian language is used in daily communication by 42% of families, Russian by 36%, and both languages by 21%. The ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the Ukrainian Parliament on May 15, 2003 revived the debate on language policies and emphasised the need for a new basic law. The debates on the status of the official language for both Ukrainian and Russian broke out especially on the eve of the presidential election in October 2004 and again during the Parliament elections in 2006. According to data complied from a social monitoring survey, 34.4% of the population rejected the necessity to give the Russian language an official status, 48.6% support this move and 16.9% stated that they are unsure.

The Law on Education grants Ukrainian families (parents and their children) a right to choose their native language for schools and studies. In 2001, there were 21 226 secondary schools in Ukraine, including 16 757 schools teaching in Ukrainian, 1 935 in Russian, 98 in Romanian, 68 in Hungarian, 11 in Crimean Tatar, 9 in Moldavian, 3 in Polish, etc. The network of educational establishments is formed according to the national composition of a territory.

169 periodicals for national minorities were registered in the Ukraine as of February 2002. 46 of them are published in the language of a national minority: Russian, Polish, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Romanian, Byelorussian, German, and Turkish (see chapter 4.2.1). 123 periodicals are bilingual or trilingual, for example: Russian and Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian and Hungarian, Ukrainian and Russian, etc.

Table 2: Share of different language periodicals distributed in the Ukraine, 2005

Language	Number	Share in %
Ukrainian	4 351	60.64%
Russian	2 743	38.46%
Hungarian	10	0.14%
Bulgarian	2	0.03%
Polish	5	0.07%
Romanian	6	0.09%
Crimean Tartar	4	0.06%
English	28	0.39%
German	3	0.04%
Chinese	2	0.03%
Vietnamese	3	0.04%

Source: State Committee of Ukraine on Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting, 2006

National TV and radio stations provide special programmes in the languages of national minorities: Russian, Crimean Tatar, German, Greek, Bulgarian, Armenian, Hungarian, and Romanian (see chapter 5.1.9, Table 5).

Ukraine/ 4.3 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.3 Intercultural dialogue: actors, strategies, programmes

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Committee on Nationalities and Religions, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry for Families, Youth and Sport are responsible for intercultural dialogue on the central level. The Ministry of Regional Development and Building and the Departments of Culture and Tourism, and of Youth and Sports are responsible for intercultural dialogue at the local level. The draft Action Programme for enriching and developing culture, elaborated by the National Board for Culture Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, determines intercultural dialogue as one of the top priorities of the national cultural policy. According to the Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society, the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions should be one of the key tasks of cultural policy.

The All-Ukrainian Forum of national cultures, "We All Are Your Children, Ukraine", was initiated in 1988. The Forum takes place once every two years within the framework of the artistic project "Ukraine is Open to the World" and is supported by the Board of National Societies of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine. The purpose of this project is to promote cultures from different nations and nationalities living in the Ukraine. The Forum displays the creative work of professional, folk and amateur artists, collectives and groups.

The following private actors operate successfully in the field of intercultural dialogue: New Music Association (Odessa), Arabesque Theatre Studio (Kharkiv), Association of Art Galleries (Kyiv), Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" (Kyiv), Theatre Pechersk (Kyiv), Theatre "Drabyna" (Lviv), the Centre of Contemporary Art (Kyiv), Art Centre "Dzyga" (Lviv), Centre for Youth initiatives "Totem" (Kherson) and other organisations.

Examples of Good Practice

The project Model 21: Cultural Transformers started in January 2006 and will run for three years. It will provide a toolkit for the development of local core groups of cultural managers, cultural policy makers, individual artists, cultural organisations and local business communities to become a meeting point for partnerships at different levels, promote the elaboration of a local development strategy and dynamise the cultural life in the community. It is a Cooperation Project of the Swiss Cultural Programme South-East Europe and Ukraine. The model 21 project provides support to cultural policy structures and helps to broaden the democratic basis in this field; it also fosters the transfer of ideas for the development of cultural industries (http://www.model21.org.ua).

The Swedish-Ukrainian project SWIZHE started in 2006. The main idea of the overall project, initiated by the Swedish Institute (SI) with various local partners in Ukraine, non-governmental art organisations, is to realise co-operation between young Swedish and Ukrainian artists in different fields of the arts. Within the framework of the project, there are 8 different projects in the performing arts, literature, music, photography, design, visual arts and film, and a set of seminars on cultural policies. A tour of each "production" will reach 3-5 of the following cities (depending on size and form); Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odessa. Finally, in 2008, selected parts of the projects will be presented at a small festival in Kyiv. The performing arts project includes the Modern Dance Theatre / Melo Company (Sweden) and the New Theatre of Pechersk (Ukraine), which created a performance mixing dance and theatre. The production is being developed by the artists themselves at two workshops, one in Stockholm and one in Kyiv. The project started with a workshop in May 2006, followed up by a workshop held in Stockholm in September 2006. During April 2007, project participants presented their production in the Ukrainian cities of: Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Kyiv.

For more information, see:
Database of Good Practice on Intercultural Dialogue and our Intercultural Dialogue section.

Ukraine/ 4.3 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.4 Social cohesion and cultural policies

There are special programmes directed at the development of participation and social cohesion in each region, in the form of arts festivals, meetings and reviews. In most cases, funding for these events is derived from regional or local budgets. As a rule, key actors are civil society organisations and state-owned institutions.

Some good examples are internet centres in small towns and villages, opened with the support of international projects, which are accessible to all groups and are mainly free of charge.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.5 Media pluralism and content diversity

According to the data of the State Committee on Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting, there were 22 794 printed periodicals registered in the Ukraine in January 2005. They include 9 948 printed media with national, regional and / or international circulation and 12 846 with local circulation. Approximately 70% of national and local periodicals are privately owned (their founders / owners are legal or physical entities). The State Committee on Information Policy has created a database of 737 community printed periodicals, including 41 newspapers which were founded by regional administrations, 199 by city administrations, 487 by district state administrations, district councils and editorial boards, and 10 by village authorities. Other founders are public organisations, political parties, local governments, religious institutions, educational establishments, scientific organisations, creative associations, etc. From the total number of printed periodicals (generally, newspapers and magazines) 250 at the national level are literary and artistic and 47 at the local level are cultural and educational. The Ministry of Culture has its own media publishing house and issues two magazines (Monuments of Ukraine and Ukrainian World). In spite of the high number of printed periodicals, the number of copies printed is not sufficient (above 4 million) for the population of Ukraine of more than 47 million people. The number of copies available per capita is 40% less than recommended by UNESCO for developed countries.

To improve the coverage of culture by the media, the Ministry of Culture plans to initiate, in 2008, an annual competition for the best journalistic work on cultural policy issues.

There are 120 information agencies in Ukraine, 5 of which are state-owned. The key state-owned information agency Ukrinform, located in Kyiv, distributes information in the Ukrainian, Russian, English and German languages. In 2006, the agency created several Internet resources aimed at national and foreign users, for example the site "Ukraine: 2006 elections" - http://election2006.ukrinform.ua.

1 260 TV and Radio stations, under various forms of ownership, were registered in the Ukraine in March 2005. The total air time of TV and radio broadcasting is 10 344 hours per day. About 80% of all air time is filled by non-Ukrainian products (programmes and films). In 2006, the number of original programmes created by regional TV stations increased by 150%, and radio broadcasting by regional stations increased by 11%. The national TV companies produced 15 original programmes and filmed 70 documentaries in 2006. Hungarian, Polish and Romanian TV companies cover the western part of Ukraine, while Russian TV companies are presented in all regions.

Within the system of State TV-Radio Broadcasting, there are 24 regional TV stations, the State TV Company "Crimea" and State TV-Radio Station in Kyiv and Sevastopol. The share of non-public TV and radio broadcasting constitutes 96% of the Ukrainian informational space.

There are no anti-trust measures to prevent media concentration. Until now, the Anti-Trust Committee did not discover any case of possible media concentration. There are no special legislative mechanisms or governmental programmes to promote cultural issues through media or encourage the production of cultural programmes, as well as no specific training programmes for journalists. The idea to create a special TV channel called Culture has been under discussion for several years between two competing public agencies - the Ministry of Culture and the State Committee on Information Policy.

There were approximately 45 000 hosts in the Ukrainian Internet system in 2005. The share of cultural and entertainment information in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet constitutes 14.8%.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.6 Culture industries: policies and programmes

There is no clear definition of the cultural industries in Ukraine. The first mention of "cultural industries" appeared in the Law of Ukraine on the Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine (2005). The draft Law on Culture, which has been under discussion for the last 5 years, has no mention of "cultural industries". The Roadmap to the Programme for Enrichment and Development of Culture and Spiritual Heritage of the Ukrainian Society stresses the necessity to support the "national culture producer, cultural industries, and pop-culture". Proposed support measures are addressed mainly to film production, book publishing and crafts. There are no specific training and education programmes for culture industry professionals.

The future centre for culture industries development, including information, training and practical facilities, is planned as a component of the Cultural-art and Museum Complex "Mystetsky arsenal". The concept of its creation is under discussion, as well as the general orientation of the future complex (see also http://www.artarsenal.in.ua).

At the same time, it should be noted that attempts to introduce an industrial-sector cluster development model in the Ukraine (beginning in 1998) led to the creation of a fashion cluster in the Khmelnytsky oblast (1999), a rural-tourism cluster in the village of Grytsiv Khmelnytsky oblast (2001), folk art and craft cluster (Ivano-Frankivsk oblast), etc. Such initiatives were developed further within the framework of a programme "Innovative model of local development based on the efficient use of cultural resources", supported partially by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Within the framework of this programme, the Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" organised mapping activities of available cultural and creative resources in local communities.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.7 Employment policies for the cultural sector

In January 2007, a total of 190 000 persons were employed in the public cultural sector in 40 000 state or community owned cultural organisations. Among them, 22.9 thousand people (13%) were under-employed: 4.5 thousand received 0.25 of their salary, 12.9 thousand - 0.5 of their salary, and 5.4 thousand - 0.75 of their salary. Most of the cultural employees are working in institutions funded from local budgets (more than 100 thou workers).

There is no data on employment patterns in the private sector cultural industries.

The main problems related to cultural employment are the following:

to raise the salaries of cultural workers (the lowest in the public sector was UAH 420 (60 euro), while the average salary in the cultural sector (May 2007) was UAH 707 or 105 euro;
to provide training programmes offering new management skills;
to raise the prestige of employment in the cultural sector; and
to secure tax and rent privileges, especially for independent artists and organisations (see also chapter 4.3).

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.8 New technologies and cultural policies

During 2004-2005, the Ministry of Culture concentrated on the introduction of modern technology into traditional cultural institutions to enable them to meet the demands of the information society. Significant progress has been achieved in the field of libraries. For example, the Ministry implemented a programme to develop a local library electronic network, in partnership with international foundations and embassies. Today, more than 90% of the main regional libraries are connected to the Internet, more than half of all university libraries on the city level have their own web sites. More than 2 million entries are available from e-catalogues. A similar programme has been developed to modernise museums. However, most local museums in medium-size cities (above 100 000 inhabitants) have no access to the internet. Table 3 represents Internet resources for Ukrainian culture.

Table 3: Internet resources for Ukrainian culture, 2007

Culture, general	549 sites
Museums	162
Music	406
Theatre	271
Festivals, concerts	73
Film Industry	74
Cultural Education	51
Circus	6
Cultural institutions abroad	135
Publishing Houses	19
Organisations	98 sites
Libraries	121
Visual art	463
Choreography	133
Literature	186
Crafts	100
Photo	82
National minorities	91
Reserves, parks	45

Source: Ukrainian Centre for Cultural Studies of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Cultural Policy in Ukraine, National Report, 2007.

Due to limited financial resources, there are no special state programmes to support artists working with new technologies. Innovations in the field of new technologies are usually developed with non-governmental resources.

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.9 Heritage issues and policies

The protection and preservation of the cultural heritage is one of the top priority issues of Ukrainian cultural policy. The Ministry of Culture in co-operation with other ministries and public agencies prepared a draft programme to create a list of monuments and historical sites and objects not subject to privatisation and to develop a general scheme to map the territory of the Ukraine. During 2005-2006, a set of draft laws regulating heritage issues were prepared, including ratification of the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Heritage and the EU Convention on Architectural Heritage.

Great attention is being paid to the restitution of cultural goods taken out of the Ukraine in former times. The Ministry of Culture and the Parliament Committee of Culture are making significant efforts to prevent the destruction of cultural and historical monuments and are fighting, in particular, against so called "black archaeologists".

There are more than 130 000 culture and historical monuments in the state register of Ukraine, including 57 206 archaeological monuments (418 of national significance), 51 364 historical monuments (142 of national significance), 5 926 samples of monumental art (44 of national significance), and 16 797 urban monuments (3 541 of national significance).

The Ukraine has 61 cultural and historical reserve areas (14 of national significance). A set of state programmes are under preparation to unite heritage assets with the development of cultural tourism e.g. "Castles of Ukraine" 2006-2011, "Wooden Sacral Architecture" 2006-2011, "Golden Horseshoe of Cherkassy Region", "Programme for the Development of Folk and Traditional Arts", etc. During 2005-2006, restoration works were executed in several historical sites, in Lviv, Kamianets-Podilsky, Nizhyn, Kaniv, Glukhiv and Baturyn, due to a significant increase in the budget spending for restoration and repair of architectural monuments (by 2.5 times in 2005, compared to the figure for 2004). In general, budget spending for heritage protection and maintenance increases annually by 25-30%, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism data.

The National information programme envisages the development, in 2006-2008, of electronic systems entitled "Ukraine Libraries" and "Ukraine Museums".

Ukraine/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.10 Gender equality and cultural policies

Equal rights for women and men are guaranteed by the Constitution, through Article 24 and through other laws, e.g. the Law on Employment (where special attention is paid to single mothers and mothers with children under 6 years), the Law on Vacations, Fundamentals of the Legislation on Health Care and others.

There are no specific programmes supporting women as professionals in the cultural labour market. Traditionally, however, women represent the majority of cultural employees, especially in administration, libraries, museums, and archives. Due to the insufficient financing of culture, jobs in the cultural sector are not very prestigious and attractive. At the same time, the emerging cultural industries market is not regulated by quota schemes, and some sectors, e.g. new technologies, are dominated by men. Quota schemes are absent not only in the field of culture, but also in other kinds of social, political or economic activities. For example, while women represent 54% of total population, their share in the Parliament constitutes only about 4%.

Ukraine/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.3 Other relevant issues and debates

Article 118 of the 2007 Budget Law of Ukraine caused a recent conflict situation between public authorities and culture organisations concerning the rules of rent payment. The article states that the Law: "Determines that the rental of state and community tenements in 2007 shall be executed exclusively on a competitive basis. Rent payment for state or community property shall be determined according to its market value".

Following this article, the city authorities of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, decided to revise upwards the rent rates for city-owned buildings in the downtown area. It concerned several cultural organisations (art galleries, theatre centre, music groups, art unions, book shops, etc.), which were obliged to pay a rent beyond their means or move away.

The threats united all representatives of culture in their struggle against this policy. The civic committee for saving the cultural environment "Culture against vandals" was founded in July 2007. Cultural organisations, artists, cultural and social practitioners, through this committee, requested the President of Ukraine and the government for help. The Ministry of Culture supported their demands.

As a result, the Cabinet of Ministers gave a commission to respective central agencies to prepare their proposals. In the Draft 2008 Budget Law, the respective article (now 86) has exclusions for cultural and social organisations. However, the situation is only suspended, leading to wide debates on city and state policy concerning culture and the non-profitable sectors.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.1 Constitution

The Constitution proclaims that:

the state provides the framework for the consolidation and development of the Ukrainian nation, its historical awareness, traditions and culture and guarantees the free ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious development of all indigenous nations and national minorities of the Ukraine (Article11);
Ukraine takes care of cultural and language needs of Ukrainians living abroad (Article12);
the freedom of literary, artistic, scientific, and technical creativity is guaranteed, intellectual ownership, authors' rights, moral and material interests related to different kinds of intellectual ownership are protected (Article54); and
cultural heritage is protected by law (Article54).

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.2 Division of jurisdiction

The basic laws establishing the division of cultural competence between different levels of government in the Ukraine are the Law on Local Self-Governance (1997), and the Budget Code of Ukraine (2002).

The Law on Local Self-Governance determines the responsibilities of local authorities in the sphere of culture including:

administration of cultural institutions belonging to territorial communities;
creation of conditions for the development of culture;
providing the regeneration of centres of traditional skills and cultural traditions; and
support to creative associations and non-profit cultural organisations.

The Budget Code determines cultural responsibilities and financial obligations to provide public services.

Table 4 shows the distribution of competencies and responsibilities between the different levels of government.

Table 4: Allocation of government responsibilities in Ukraine, 2002

Level of government	Responsibility
Central government	Institutions and companies, cultural heritage and programmes of national importance; international relations; national media, radio and television; state archives
Regional / oblast	Institutions and programmes of republican or regional importance
Municipality / Rayon	Libraries, museums, exhibitions, theatres, centres and houses of culture, art schools
Town / village	Houses of culture, clubs, libraries

Source: Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Budget Committee, 2002

In 2005, President Verkhovna Rada approved the Law on Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine, which determines the financing of cultural institutions and programmes from the municipal (rayon) budget including: state cultural-educational and theatre programmes (theatres, libraries, museums, exhibitions, palaces and houses of culture, art schools); village, settlement and town palaces of culture, clubs and libraries. In other words, towns and villages of a municipality can direct their culture expenditures (if they can) to their own development.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.3 Allocation of public funds

The main provisions for the allocation of public funds for culture including the central and local level are established by the Budget Code of the Ukraine (2002), especially Articles 86-93.

The Budget Law for each year is adopted in the previous year, and defines the current allocation of public funds for culture concerning the chief spending units.

In particular, the 2006 Budget Law of Ukraine allocated UAH 611 766 million (app. 95 000 million euro) for activities of the Ministry of Culture, including UAH 87 483 million for cultural heritage protection, UAH 51 406 million for museums, UAH 52 380 million for libraries, and UAH 50 000 million for film production. The Ministry of Culture is empowered to make changes only inside the budget programmes.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.4 Social security frameworks

Members of artists unions (writers, painters, architects, musicians, theatre workers) have a right to receive an extra pension. According to the law, they could also have access to premises to be used as their studios under preferential terms. Artists unions pay for medical services of their members.

There is no government support programme related to health insurance or taxation for self-employed artists. The general unemployment schemes developed during the last years in the Ukraine also include cultural professions and occupations.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.5 Tax laws

The Law on Charity and Charitable Foundations, which came into force in 1997, grants tax exemptions for funds voluntarily transferred to the state budget, local budgets or to non-profit organisations up to a maximum of 4% of the taxable income. Under the conditions of a shadow economy (whose share of the Ukrainian economy is estimated at above 50% by independent experts) this measure, which is not supported by other political or social measures, has proven to be inefficient. A new law on charity and sponsorship is presently under development. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism submitted the draft law on Arts Patronage for public discussion. At the moment, there is no separate law on non-profitable organisations, especially in the cultural sphere.

There is no special VAT rate for cultural products or cultural services. According to the Law on State Support to Book Publishing (2003) Ukrainian book producers are exempt from VAT till 2008.

Recent government resolutions (2003) envisage a tax exemption for authors' and translators' royalties paid by publishing houses.

There are no specific tax breaks or other such benefits for artists.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.6 Labour laws

Article 19 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture defines a professional creative worker in the sphere of culture as "a person whose creative activity is his / her principal employment and the main source of income".

The Law on Professional Artists and Artistic Unions (1997) regulates relations between artists unions and the government, envisages government subsidies to support these organisations, and ensures their participation in the development of cultural programmes and decision making.

The Budget Code of Ukraine (Article 87) outlines government support to cultural unions or associations of national significance. There are 11 national creative unions registered in the Ukraine.

There is a unified system of salaries for cultural employees in the public sector, and the wages of this category of public employees are the lowest compared to other economic branches. According to the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution, the minimum wage for public employee is UAH 432 (60 euros) as of September 1 2007. Nevertheless, cultural employees, especially in small towns and villages often earn half or one quarter of this minimum wage (see also chapter 4.2.7).

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.7 Copyright provisions

The Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights was adopted in 1994. In 1995, the Ukraine joined the Bern Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. In 2001, all necessary amendments were introduced into the Copyright Law. In 2002, the Parliament ratified the agreement to join the Rome Convention on Protection of the Rights of Performers, Phonogram Producers and Broadcast Organisations. Joining the WTO TRIPS Agreement required further harmonisation of the Ukrainian Copyright Law provisions to bring it in line with European and international regulations.

The Law on Distribution of Copies of Audio and Visual Products and Phonograms (2000) regulates norms of copyright and joint copyrights, protecting producers against broadcasters and other product users.

In 2006, the governmental Department on Intellectual Property developed a draft law on amendments to laws and by-laws on intellectual property rights taking into account new technological achievements, especially in audio and video industries.

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.8 Data protection laws

The Law on Information (1992, with amendments 2000 and 2002) determines general legal principles for receiving, using, distributing and keeping information, secures its protection and defends an individual and society against incorrect information.

The Law on Data Protection in Automatic Systems was adopted in 1994. Amendments and changes were introduced in 2004. This law and respective government resolutions are aimed at establishing regulative principles of legal relations concerning data protection in databases "under observance of property rights of Ukrainian citizens and legal entities to information and access to information".

Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.9 Language laws

State TV companies located in the regions have introduced special language quotas on programmes broadcast in the languages of national minorities. This provision is found in the laws on national minorities. The following Table shows the volume of broadcasting in languages of national minorities (in hours) during 2000-2001.

Table 5: TV and radio broadcasting in languages of national minorities in Ukraine, 2000-2001

	TV (in hours)		Radio (in hours)
	2000	2001	2000	2001
*State TV and radio-company* "Crimea"
Crimean Tatar	223.4	261	263	209
Russian	365	365	364	365
Bulgarian	104	104	52	52
Greek	104	104	52	52
German	104	104	52	52
Armenian	104	104	52	52
*Odessa state TV and radio-company*
Moldavian	39	36	69.7	36
Bulgarian	36	36	39	64
Gagauz	6	6	39	39
*Chernivetska oblast state TV and radio-company*
Romanian	92	90	212.2	136
Jewish	-	4	-	4
*Zakarpatska oblast state TV and radio-company*
Romanian	48	64	104	105
Hungarian	48	73	253.4	263
Slovak	24	23	20	20
German	18	8	-	-
Roma	-	12	-	10

Source: State Committee of Ukraine on Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting, 2002.

Ukraine/ 5.2 Legislation on culture

The legislative framework of the cultural sector of the Ukraine consists of:

numerous laws and legislative acts adopted by the Verkhovna Rada;
resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukraine;
Presidential Edicts, decrees, resolutions and instructions of the corresponding ministries and government agencies; and
resolutions of local governments.

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted more than 300 laws which directly or indirectly refer to the sphere of culture. The legal instruments for cultural policy are based on the Constitution and on the Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture. As the cultural sector in the Ukraine is constantly transformed, revised and re-created, it requires a great number of new laws and regulations. Therefore the laws related to culture have to be improved and changed constantly.

Despite their number, the laws on culture have only had a limited influence on cultural development. A lot of laws are purely declarative and never implemented. Therefore, they are inefficient and permanently being violated. Some cultural laws collide with basic laws in other social and economic sectors. Established norms and provisions are not observed because there is no clear responsibility. In some areas of the cultural sector, especially in the culture industries, there is no legal basis at all.

The following groups of laws constitute the basic framework of legislative provisions for culture.

Laws setting out cultural policy frameworks or declarations of principle:

Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture (1992 with amendments), establishes legal, economic, social, organisational principles of development of culture in the Ukraine;
National Minorities in the Ukraine (1992), ensures equal political, social, economic and cultural rights and freedoms to citizens irrespectively of their origin, supports development of national cultures; and
Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine for 2005-2007 (2005), defines strategic areas and priorities in the implementation of the public cultural policy in Ukraine for 2005-2007.

Laws establishing the scope, operation(s), governing structure(s) and procedures for funding cultural institutions:

Information (1992, with amendments 2001), confirms the right of citizens to information, freedom of expression;
Television and Radio Broadcasting (1993, with amendments 2002), regulates activities of television and radio organisations in the Ukraine, defines legal, economic, social, and organisational conditions of their functioning;
Copyrights and Related Rights (1994, with amendments 1999), protects personal non-property and property rights of authors and their assignees;
Libraries and Librarianship (1995), defines status of libraries, legal and organisation principles of activities of libraries and librarianship in the Ukraine;
Museums and Museum Activities (1995), regulates social relations in the sphere of museum activities;
On the National Archive Fund and Archive Institutions (1994), regulates relations in the field of training, accounting, preservation and use of the National Archive Fund and other main issues related to archive science;
Governmental Support to Mass Media and Social Protection of Journalists (1997), establishes legal, economic, and organisational principles of governmental support for the mass media and social protection of journalists;
Professional Artists and Artists Unions (1997), defines the legal status of professional artists, establishes legal, social, economic and organisational principles of activities of artists unions;
Cinematography (1998), establishes legal norms of activities in the sphere of cinematography and regulates social relations in the field of production, distribution, preservation and exhibition of films;
Preservation of Cultural Heritage (2000), regulates legal, organisational, social, and economic relations in the sphere of preservation of cultural heritage;
Export, Import and Restitution of Cultural Goods (1999), regulates preservation of national cultural heritage and development of international co-operation in the field of culture;
Distribution of Copies of Audio and Visual Products and Phonograms (2000), regulates norms of copyright and joint copyrights, fulfilment of international obligations;
Theatre and Performing Arts Activities (2005), regulates social relations in the theatre sector, defines the legal status of theatres, their financing and how they are established; and
Law on Temporary Prohibition to Privatise Cultural Heritage Objects (2005).

Laws providing financing:

Budget Code of Ukraine (2002), defines allocation of public funds for culture between different levels of government;
Charity and Charitable Foundations (1997), defines tax exemption for funds voluntarily transferred to support culture or cultural activities;
Taxation of Enterprises (1997), defines tax rates and procedures including enterprises in the cultural sphere;
Touring Activities in Ukraine (2003), establishes duties from foreign tour companies or individual performers for developing national performing art; and
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution on Approval of the List of Arts Institutions and the List of Actions in the Sphere of Culture Funded on the Account of the State Budget (2001).

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.1 Visual and applied arts

There is no specific law regulating the sphere of visual and applied arts.

The Law of Ukraine on Folk Arts and Crafts (2001) regulates relations in folk arts and crafts.

The Law on Education and government resolutions define the norms for students in visual in applied arts colleges and departments.

The Law on State Procurements, revised annually, determines the amount for public purchasing of works of art.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.2 Performing arts and music

A Law on Theatre and Performing Activities was adopted in 2004 by the Parliament of Ukraine and signed by the President in 2005. The law "regulates social relations in the sphere of theatre activity, defines the order of theatre establishment and activities" including different types of theatres.

Meanwhile, performing arts and music is regulated by some provisions found in the Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture (1992) and the Law on Professional Artists and Artist Unions (1997).

The Law on Touring Activities in Ukraine (2003) determines sources of support to the development of the national performing arts and music sector.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.3 Cultural heritage

The Law on Museums and Museum Activities (1995) which determined the policy concerning state-owned collections of cultural-valued objects was amended in 1999. In 2000, Provisions on the Museum Fund of Ukraine was approved as well as the List of Museums Run by Enterprises, Establishments, and Organisations. These and other legislative acts prepared the basis for the Programme on the Development of Museum Affairs in the Ukraine until 2005, adopted in 2002.

The Law on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (2002) accumulated the principal provisions concerning cultural heritage of several laws: the Law on the Privatisation of Public Domain (1992), the Law on Local Self-Government (1997), the Law on Transferring Public Objects to Communal Property (1998) and others.

In 2002, the government developed and adopted the Methods of Monetary Assessment of Monuments. On the basis of this government resolution (2002), the State Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage was established, with departments in all cities.

In 2003, local governments increased local budget expenditures for the protection of cultural heritage. In 2004, the Parliament adopted in its first reading, the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage determining that the preservation of cultural heritage is one of the priority tasks of the central government and local authorities.

The Law on the Preservation of the Archaeological Heritage (2004) considering provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, Land Code of Ukraine and the Law on Preservation of Cultural Heritage regulates relations concerning the preservation, research and conservation of the archaeological heritage, and secures the right to recognise archaeological values.

The Law on Export, Import and Restitution of Cultural Values was adopted in 1999 in compliance with international conventions. On the basis of this law the State Control Agency on the Removal of Cultural Values was established at the Ministry of Culture.

In 2005, the Law on Temporary Prohibition to Privatise Cultural Heritage Objects was adopted as a pre-condition for preparing draft laws on cultural heritage that should not be privatised.

The Law of Ukraine On Ratification of Agreement of Displacement of Cultural Values (particularly in CIS countries), 2006.

The Law of Ukraine On Ratification of the UNESCO Convention on Preservation of Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2006.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.4 Literature and libraries

The Law on Copyrights and Related Rights (1994, with amendments 1999) and the Law on Professional Artists and Artists Unions (1997) secure the right of authors and literary translators. Royalty rates for literary and translation activities established by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution (2000) are based on living wage and do not consider new market conditions. As a result, existing rates do not encourage such activities.

The Law on Publishing (1997, 2002) and the Law on State Support to Book Publishing (2003) determine the state policy and measures to provide conditions for the development of national publishing including the exemption of book producers from VAT till 2008.

The Law on Libraries and Librarianship (1995) regulates relations between the state and public libraries and determines the organisation of library activities in Ukraine.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.5 Architecture and environment

The Law on Architecture Activities (1999) defines legal and organisation principles of architecture activities in Ukraine. It also envisages the wide public participation in decision-making process concerning construction and reconstruction of settlements.

The Law on Natural and Reserve Fund of Ukraine (1992) and the Law on Amendments to the Law on Natural and Reserve Fund of Ukraine (2000) establish principles of preservation for reserved territories subject to architecture design.

In 2001, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukraine adopted the Resolution on Inclusion of Monuments of History, Monumental Art and Archaeology of the National Significance to the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.6 Film, video and photography

The Ukrainian legislative base concerning film industry is mainly formulated and numbers above 50 laws and by-laws. At the same time, such important sphere, as economic and organization relations in cinematography, isn't regulated by mentioned laws. Existing legislative base needs to be improved and added by new rules in compliance with modern realities and European standards.

The Law on Cinematography regulates all film productions regardless of the legal / ownership status of individual film companies.

There are 5 state-run film studios in the Ukraine. On the basis of the Law on the Privatisation of State Property (1992), most cinemas are now privatised or run by communities. There are 532 cinemas in Ukraine and 4 104 cinema facilities in the rural areas.

The presidential edict Guidelines on the Development of Cinematography in the Ukraine until 2005 supports the development of regional programmes to improve cinema services.

In 2002, the government elaborated and the Parliament adopted the Law on the State Programme for the Development of a National Film Industry for 2003- 2008.

In 2003, the Draft Law on Duty for the Development of National Cinematography was submitted to the Parliament for consideration by the Committee on Culture and Spiritual Heritage. In accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution of 22 November 2005, the State Film Service was created within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.

In 2006, the Law On Amendments to Code of Ukraine on Administrative Violations of the Law (concerning film distribution) was adopted.

In 2007, the State Film Service prepared the draft "Concept of the State Programme for National Film Industry Development for 2008-2012", draft Government Resolution on budget support to film production, distribution and demonstration, draft laws on creation of favourable conditions for the national film industry development, on fee for development of national cinematography, other norms, rules and recommendations.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.7 Culture industries

A first step to support and develop different sectors of the culture industries was made in 2003 when the Law on State Support to Book Publishing was approved. According to this law, which came into force in 2004, Ukrainian book producers are exempt from taxes until 2008. The law lists target activities and stipulates how to use the funds collected to revive and develop the publishing industry. In 2006, the State Committee of Ukraine on Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting prepared a draft governmental Resolution on Promoting the Development of Book Publishing in Ukraine, which indicated on the necessity of annual quotas for importing books from different countries. In particular, the document establishes that "...annual quotas (numerical limitations) will be introduced on import printed editions (books, brochures, printed materials, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, etc into Ukraine, the import duty will be collected...".

The Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting (1993, with amendments 2002) regulates the activities of private TV and Radio companies.

The Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine for 2005-2007 (2004) envisages ensuring "a supportive environment", including mapping, training, legal and financial assistance, "for the development of cultural industries, cultural tourism and a cultural services market".

In 2006, the Draft Law On Introducing Changes to Some Laws of Ukraine (concerning the taxation of art products) was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministries and the Parliament Committee on Culture. The Draft Law proposes to introduce some tax privileges concerning cultural products.

It should be noted that some decisions made by the local authorities are directed to the development of the cultural industries and creative initiatives. For example, the Resolution of Volodymyretsky Rayon State Administration (Rivnenska oblast), August 7, 2002 "On Organisation Activities Concerning the Creation of Cultural and Leisure Complexes" mentions that cultural / leisure complexes will unify various cultural institutions (museums, educational establishments, clubs, libraries) irrespective of ownership in order to provide cultural and leisure services. In other words, it seeks to consolidate public and private forms of cultural activities. In this region, new approaches to village club activities are being developed on the basis of leasing to private business.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.8 Mass media

The Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting regulates the activities of TV broadcasters in the Ukraine. The National Council on Television is a non-ministerial body for all broadcasters irrespective of their ownership status. It acts as a regulator and grants licenses to TV companies.

The special Law on the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, approved in 1977, establishes a general content quota for broadcasting: Ukrainian productions must have a share of not less than 50% of all programmes. There are also language and advertising time quotas (not more than 20 minutes for an advertising bloc).

The government resolution Provision on the National Screen Time and its Use by Entities of Cinematography and Television based upon the Law on Cinematography (Article 22) determines the quota for "the demonstration of national films, which is no less than 30% of the national screen time". These quotas are (theoretically) obligatory for all cinemas and video networks as well as for TV channels. In reality, however, there are not enough domestic productions to fill the air time available.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.9 Legislation for self-employed artists

The Law on Professional Artists and Artistic Unions (1997) regulates relations between artists unions and the government, envisages government subsidies to support these organisations, which they distribute partially to support their members.

There is no arts promotion Act or other provisions encouraging self-employment of artists. Artists' self-employment, according to Ukrainian laws, is equal to all other private business activities. There are no specific tax breaks for artists or other benefit schemes.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

Ukraine/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.10 Other areas of relevant legislation

In 2007, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions was formally signed by the minister of culture and it is expected that the Parliament will ratify it in 2008.

Ukraine/ 6. Financing of culture

6.1 Short overview

The Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture of the Ukraine (1992) stipulate that funds for culture - including both public and private financing of culture - should amount to at least 8% of the national income. This goal has never been reached due to economic restraints. Unfortunately, and in spite of declarations, the financing of culture is executed by the so called residual principle (is at the bottom of all spending priorities). To overcome this weaker position, it is necessary to transform the role of the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry for Culture and to develop new funding mechanisms attracting internal and external sources - such recommendations were made by international experts on reviewing cultural policy in Ukraine.

Diagram 1 below shows that the level of GDP steadily increased during the period 1995-2007. This is not the case in the culture sector whereby the public social and cultural expenditures as a share of GDP remained at a constant level during this period.

Diagram 1: Public social and cultural expenditure as a share of GDP in Ukraine, in billion UAH, 1995-2007

Source: IAC "Democracy through Culture"

Most cultural institutions were created during the period of Soviet occupation and have been "conserved" despite the crisis in public financing.

98.5% of all cultural institutions and services are being funded from the local budgets. Therefore, the most significant recent trend in funding culture is the worsening of the economic structure of local budget expenditures during 1997-2006. Wages account for approximately 70-80% of the entire local budget. This figure has increased by 15 per cent since 1997. In small towns and villages wage payments constitute 85-90% and more of the total expenditure on culture. Improvements to the overall expenditure structure and the introduction of multi-channel funding could change this critical situation. At the same time, if spending on the maintenance of cultural institutions constituted 2 nominal kopecks from each Hryvnia of the consolidated budget in 1995, it decreased to 1 nominal kopeck in 2004.

Diagram 2 shows the share of the consolidated budget allocated to culture (without media) from late Soviet times to 2007.

The share of the state budget allocated to culture and the media increased from 0.95% in 2002 to 1.09 % in 2003, 1.1 % in 2004 and 1.1% in 2005.

Diagram 2: Share of costs for culture in the consolidated budget of Ukraine, 1980-2007
Source: DC "Democracy through Culture"

According to a national survey (2005), household spending on cultural activities is rather low - about 2.1% in an average household.

Ukraine/ 6. Financing of culture

6.2 Public cultural expenditure per capita

In comparison to other European countries, public culture expenditure per capita in the Ukraine is very small. It constituted UAH (Ukraine Hryvnia) 40 (or 6 euro, rate: 1 euro = 6.67 UAH) from the state budget in 2006, and UAH 47.4 from local budgets. According to a public survey executed by the independent research company "Research & Branding Group" in 2007, the limited expenditure for culture is one of the main deficits of the current cultural policy in Ukraine (about 40% of respondents consider this to be the case). More than 50% of respondents consider that the lack of funds hinders their cultural requirements (see also http://www.rb.com.ua)

The Budget Code of Ukraine introduced a new system of allocations of public cultural expenditure in 2002. Cultural expenditure coming from local budgets is determined on the basis of exact expenditures assigned between budget types and administrative levels. The total amount of funds allocated to culture is determined by the unified spending norm per capita. The Ministry of Finance estimates the projected spending for social and cultural services granted from the local budget on the basis of the available budget resources. The levels of public cultural expenditures reflect the low level of budget provision and extremely low payments given to employees of cultural institutions. The raise in payments means the additional burden to local budget expenditures for culture.

Ukraine/ 6. Financing of culture

6.3 Public cultural expenditure broken down by level of government

During 2001-2006, the cultural expenditure from the consolidated budget increased by 3 times, from UAH 830.2 thousand to UAH 2529.5 thousand. The state budget expenditure increased by 4 times, while the local budget expenditure increased by only 2.8 times. In 2007, state budget expenditure increased by 31%, and local budget expenditure by 24%.It is explained firstly, by general increase nominally in all budget expenses, secondly, by the increase in salaries, and thirdly, by inflation rates. It applies to all spheres without exception of culture, which till now didn't get special importance among other branches of public economy. This means that there is a precarious trend of re-allocation of public funds in favour of the state budget, in spite of the fact that 98.5% of all cultural institutions and services are funded from local budgets. In 2005, the share of public cultural expenditure from regional and municipal budgets was 62% of the consolidated budget, while the state budget expenditure for culture (including media) reached 38%.

Table 6: Public cultural expenditure in Ukraine: by level of government, in million UAH, 2005

Level of government	Total expenditure	% share of total
State	966	38%
Regional (oblast, rayon)	885	35%
Local (municipal, towns)	698	27%
Total	2 549	100%

Source: State Treasury of Ukraine, DC "Democracy through Culture".

Ukraine/ 6. Financing of culture

6.4 Sector breakdown

The weight of specific expenditures in the structure of the consolidated budget characterises their national importance and priority among other spending functions - last column.

Table 7: State cultural expenditure: by sector, in million UAH, 2004

Field / Domain / Sub-domain	Direct expenditure ***	Transfers to institutions	Transfers (to other levels of government) - local budgets	% of local budgets***	% total ***
Cultural Goods
Cultural Heritage	164	47	117	71.3	8.9
Historical Monuments	38*	16	22	57.9	2.0
Museums	126	31	95	75.4	6.5
Archives	7	7			0.4
Libraries	265	27	238	89.8	13.7
Arts
Visual Arts (including design)
Performing Arts	331	-	140	42.3	17.2
Music	154	46	108	70.1	8.0
Theatre and Musical Theatre	172.2	52.2	120	69.8	8.9
Multidisciplinary	4.8	4.8	0		0.3
Media
Books and Press	134	56	78	58	7.0
Books	28	20	8	28.6	1.5
Press	106	36	70	66.0	5.5
Audio, Audiovisual and Multimedia	338	289	47	13.9	17.5
Cinema	23	12	11	47.8	1.2
Radio	315	279	36	11.4	16.3
Television
Other
Interdisciplinary
Socio-cultural	324	21	303	93.5	16.8
Cultural Relations Abroad
Administration*	5	5			0.3
Educational Activities	136**		136		6.5
Not allocable by domain	226		226	100	11.7
Total	1 928	691	1 237	64.2	100.0

Source:      State Treasury of Ukraine, IAC "Democracy through Culture".
*                 Maintenance and protection of historical monuments is in the competence of the Ministry of Construction and Architecture of Ukraine.
**              Academy of Arts of Ukraine is funded separately in the amount of UAH 4.7 million.
***            of consolidated budget.

Ukraine/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.1 Re-allocation of public responsibilities

The Fundamentals of the Legislation on Culture (1992) defines the actors in the cultural fields as follows: "professional artists, professional artistic companies, cultural workers, individual citizens; public and private establishments, enterprises, organisations, and institutions acting in the sphere of culture; creative unions, national cultural societies, foundations, associations, and other public unions and their enterprises; state in the part of its power bodies and administration".

During the last years, several laws, government decrees and presidential edicts were adopted. Of special importance were the changes made to the Law on Privatisation of the Public Domain (1992), the Law on Local Self-Governance (1997), the Law on Professional Artists and Artistic Unions (1997), the Law on Charity and Charitable Foundations (1997), the Law on the Taxation of Enterprises (1997), the Law on Local State Administrations (1999), the Budget Code of Ukraine, and also the Presidential Edicts on the Fund to Support Art Development (1994), the National Establishments of Culture (1994), and Providing Charitable Activities in Ukraine. The main goal of these legal amendments was to de-centralise public responsibilities for culture and to delegate basic tasks and responsibilities to the local government level, transferring some services to private or non-government organisations.

The newly emerging private and non-government sector of culture (including art galleries, design centres, show business, publishing houses, and media) has no influence on the public cultural policy and acted, until recently, more or less independently of government cultural policies. The creation of the Public Council on Culture at the Parliament Committee on Culture, the Public Council on Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2005), the consolidation of non-government and private organisations and associations at the local and central level, and the growing state acknowledgement of the important role these organisations can play in the restructuring of the cultural system gives rise to the hope that there may be an efficient re-allocation of responsibilities in the future.

New initiatives related to creation of creative clusters (see chapter 4.2.6) or culture and leisure complexes (see chapter 5.3.7) can provide support mainly at the local level and encourage cultural entrepreneurship.

The Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine for 2005-2007 (2005) states that: "non-for-profit organisations shall enjoy tax allowances as stipulated by the Ukrainian law. In view of this, the effective fiscal legislation shall be harmonised so as to take into account the needs of the cultural sector. Non-for-profit organisations shall have the right to attract sponsorship and public donations. To this end, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall develop, and the Verkhovna Rada shall adopt required legislation on patronage of arts and sponsorship, as well as design tax incentives for sponsorship and charity. In addition, the government shall introduce a mechanism for the recognition of sponsors and patrons of arts by the state" (see also chapter 7.3).

Ukraine/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.2 Status/role and development of major cultural institutions

A cultural institution that has been granted a "national" status is entitled to receive direct financial support from the central government and special standards of material provision. From 1992-1994 the decision to grant this status was the prerogative of the Presidential Administration, through the Cabinet of Ministers. A presidential edict of 1994 reserved the right to grant this status to the President only.

The most important national cultural institutions are:

National Academy T. Shevchenko Opera Theatre;
National Academy I.Franko Drama Theatre;
National Academy L.Ukrayinka Russian Drama Theatre;
National Philharmonic Society;
Ukrainian National Academy Folk Choir Named after H. Veriovka;
National Merited Dance Company Named after P. Virsky;
National Merited Bandura Players Company Named after H. Maiboroda;
National Merited Academy Choir "Dumka";
National Merited Academy Symphony Orchestra;
National Folkloric Orchestra;
National House of Organ and Chamber Music;
National Circus;
National Company of Soloists "Chamerate of Kyiv";
Lviv State Academy M. Zankovetska Ukrainian Drama Theatre;
State Dance and Symphony Orchestra;
State Brass Band;
Odessa State Philarmonic Orchestra;
State Theatre Centre Named after L. Kurbas;
State Enterprise "Circus Company Stars of Ukraine";
Touring Administration of Circus Companies of Ukraine;
Donets State Circus; and State Circus of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvy Rig, Luhansk, Odessa, Lviv, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Kharkiv, and Yalta; and
Administration of the House of Art Companies (Kyiv).

In addition to the national institutions, the following major cultural institutions are directly under the authority of the Ministry of Culture:

Enterprise "International Agency Ukraine-Art";
Ukrainian Centre of Festivals and Concert Programmes;
Film Studio "Ukrainian Animation";
National Kinematics of Ukraine;
Ukrainian Newsreel Studio;
National O. Dovzhenko Film Studio;
Odessa Film Studio;
National History Museum of Ukraine;
National Art Museum;
National 1941-1945 War History Museum;
State Museum of Literature;
State Open-Air Museum of Architecture;
Administration of Art Exhibitions;
National Parliament Library;
State Historical Library;
Kharkivc State Scientific Library;
Odessa State Scientific Library;
State Children Library;
Kyiv State Choreographic Scool;
Lviv Cinema Technical School;
National Chaikovky Music Academy;
Odessa State Conservatory;
Ukrainian Academy of Art;
Kyiv Theatre Institute;
Kyiv State University of Culture; and
State Academy of Managing Staff in Culture and Art.

Ukraine/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.3 Emerging partnerships or collaborations

There are a number of partnership initiatives or programmes between the state, regional or local governments and different councils or international foundations, such as the Soros Foundation, the Swiss Cultural Programme, the British Council in Ukraine, French Cultural Centre, Polish Institute, Goethe Institute, Swedish institute, etc. These initiatives encourage the participation of non-government organisations - sometimes even of the private sector - or cultural societies to support projects at the central or local level. The most popular example is the annual international film festival "Molodist", supported by a wide range of partners. At the end of 2002, the Ukrainian Forum of Creative Youth was organised with support from several public and non-government organisations and foundations.

The implementation of the project "Innovative Model of Local Development Based on the Efficient Use of Cultural Resources", initiated by the Centre "Democracy through Culture" and supported by the Parliament Committee on Culture and Spiritual Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine, Ministry of Economy and European Integration of Ukraine, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, is another example of good practice.

At the end of 2003, a competition was announced for the territories of Ukraine - cities and rayons (counties). 8 cities and 7 rayons from 10 oblasts of Ukraine were selected.

A follow-up project called Model 21 has been introduced by the Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" and is supported by the Swiss Cultural Programme in South-East Europe and Ukraine (see http://www.model21.org.ua). During the period 2006-2008, participants of the project including two pilot cities and three rayons (counties) will establish teams of cultural transformers (active people from different sectors which want to transform the situation using cultural and creative resources) as a prototype of cultural development agencies.

In 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine re-established and developed new partnership relations with non-governmental, commercial and private organisations, following the recommendations of international experts concerning cultural policy. In June 2007, the Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum with the private building corporation "Planeta-Bud" regarding united efforts aimed at "the improvement of the cultural sphere and arts development based on European principles". The successful Ukrainian participation in the Venice Biennale resulted from collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the private company PinchukArtCentre. In November 2007, the Ministry of Culture signed an agreement with the non-governmental Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" on co-operation in international initiatives and training projects.

The civic committee for saving the cultural environment "Culture against vandals" was founded in July 2007 in response to the city of Kyiv and other Ukrainian city authorities which were trying to increase the rental payments for cultural organisations on the basis of Article 118 of the 2007 Budget Law. The Committee included famous artists and scientists and such organisations as National L.Kurbas Theatre Centre, Composers' Union, House of Actor, Association of Art Galleries of Ukraine, Association of modern artists, etc.

Ukraine/ 8. Support to creativity and participation

8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

Support to artists includes direct financing and indirect assistance through e.g. low rents for premises, studios, workshops etc. Most regional and municipal councils have special funds to support creative activities. The lion's share of public funds is directed toward the maintenance of existing cultural institutions, including paying the salaries of their employees.

Efficient mechanisms for significant and long-term support from private sponsors or the "third sector" are not yet in place.

Ukraine/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.1 Special artists funds

The Presidential Edict on State Support to Culture and Arts in Ukraine (1996 and 1998) granted 100 lifelong scholarships to outstanding artists less than 70 years of age. Since then, this number has increased to 200. This is mostly a symbolic effort to recognise their achievements as the total award amounts to UAH 340 = about 57 euros.

Other initiatives include:

annual Presidential grants for young artists paid by the Ministry of Culture. According to the Presidential Edict of 3 November 2005, such grants were given to young theatre directors, musicians, artists, cinematographers, and writers (total 10 persons). The amount of the awards ranged from UAH 50 000 to UAH 9 000 (from 7 800 euros to 1 400 euros);
members of artists unions or associations receive old age pensions equal to pensions for long term government service; and
every year, the government sets aside a certain amount of the budget to purchase works of art. In 2002, the Ministry of Culture spent UAH 560 000 (93 000 euros) to purchase works from members of the National Artists Union and the National Craftsmen Union.

Ukraine/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.2 Grants, awards, scholarships

The National Shevchenko Prize is an annual award for writers, artists and artists groups for extraordinary achievements in different branches of culture. The Shevchenko Prize Committee receives applications from organisations and initiatives and declares its decision at the beginning of each year. There are also awards for special branches of culture given by the Ministry of Culture and the artists unions. Prizes are also awarded by banks, private foundations and individuals. The Writers Union has a special support scheme for newly emerging writers to publish their works. The Ministry of Culture also grants the title of Honoured or Popular Artist of Ukraine to outstanding artists and cultural workers.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism holds an annual competition for the best script or story for documentary film. The winners receive an award totalling UAH 20 000 (3 000 euros).

Ukraine/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.3 Support to professional artists associations or unions

According to the Law on Professional Artists and Artists Unions, the government supports 11 national artists unions to help them "execute their by-law tasks". In 2003, UAH 4.495 million or 702 000 euros were budgeted for this purpose. Artists unions use government subsidies to provide their members with scholarships, financial assistance, support in case of illness or death, grants (or partially paid vouchers) for members to spend time at special centres (e.g. in Yalta, Koktebel in Crimea or Odessa and Irpin near Kyiv for writers and translators), art meetings, exhibitions, parties, cultural programmes as well as for the maintenance of artists houses, centres and administration.

Ukraine/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.1 Trends and figures

Over the last 16 years, the number of public libraries in the Ukraine decreased by 18.75%, from 25 600 in 1990 to 19 800 in 2006. The number of libraries under the competence of the Ministry of Culture decreased as well, from 19 006 in 2000 to 18 443 in 2006, including a decrease of village libraries from 15 429 to 14 903 and children's libraries from 1 238 to 1 208. Due to serious financial problems, libraries were not able to keep up their stocks and purchase new titles. Today, the usual number of copies printed for a newly published book is 1 500 to 3 500. Therefore, most newly issued books are not available in local, especially village libraries.

While the number of libraries and local club institutions decreased, the number of professional theatres, concert organisations and museums increased over the last decade (see Table 8).

According to social monitoring data, a peaceful coexistence of different nationalities continues to be the characteristic of Ukrainian life. Only 3-8% of the adult population have seen cases of discrimination (Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, others) during the period 1994-2005. As a rule, the participation of different nationalities in cultural activities in Ukraine is proportionate to their number in a specific territory.

Table 8: Participation figures for cultural activities in Ukraine, 1990-2006

	1990	1996	1998	2000	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Number of professional theatres	125	130	132	131	131	135	133	135	137
Number of spectators (million)	17.6	6.9	5.6	5.7	6.2	6.1	6.0	6.2	6.2
Number of concert organisations	44	53	57	61	67	71	77	78	81
Number of spectators (million)	15.0	4.8	3.5	3.8	6.6	4.0	4.9	4.4	4.1
Number of museums	214	324	367	378	376	394	422	437	445
Museum visitors (million)	31.8	16.5	14.8	16.0	17.5	17.6	18.5	18.9	20.2
Number of cinema units (in thousand)	27.2	13.3	9.0	6.9	5.3	4.1	3.5	3.3	3.2
Number of tickets sold (million)	552	14	5	6	9	10	10	10	12
Number of public libraries (in thousand)	25.6	23.3	21.1	20.7	20.4	20.3	20.0	19.8	19.8
Number of libraries collections (million copies)	419	364	350	343	339	336	333	330	324
Books (titles)	7 046	6 084	7 065	7 749	12 444	13 805	14 790	15 720	15 867
Books (number of copies, in thousand)	170	52	44	44	48	39	53	54	54

Source: State Statistics Committee of Ukraine.

Table 9: Reading behaviour of Ukrainian citizens: number of visits to bookshops, in %, 2002

Year	Every day	Once per week	Once per month	One or several times per year	No visits
1994	1	10	16	9	64
1997	1	6	14	11	68
2000	1	5	10	12	72

Source: Institute of Sociology of Ukraine, 2002.

Table 10: Number of visits to the cinema per capita (1999-2003)

Year	Total	Cities	Rural area
1999	0.1	0.1	0.1
2000	0.13	0.14	0.11
2001	0.15	0.18	0.09
2002	0.18	0.23	0.12
2003	0.2	0.26	0.05

Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, 2005.

Table 11: Culture consumption trends in Ukraine, 2000-2005, % of respondents (average sampling - 1800 adult persons)

Activity / product	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Excursions / travel	1.7	1.7	1.1	0.8	0.4	1.3
Attendance at cinemas	1.4	2.5	2.0	1.8	2.7	3.4
Attendance at theatres, concerts, museums, exhibitions	4.1	3.4	3.7	1.9	2.2	2.9
Visiting libraries	5.9	6.5	5.8	5.8	4.9	5.5
Training courses, studios, study groups	2.0	1.7	1.6	0.9	1.6	1.3
Computers	5.4	8.4	5.3	7.6	7.4	10.8
TV	86.5	87.0	76.5	89.7	83.3	86.4

Source: Ukrainian Society 1994-2005: social monitoring. Kyiv, Institute of Sociology of Ukraine, 2006.

Ukraine/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.2 Policies and programmes

There are no specific programmes developed by the government to promote participation in cultural life.

Ukraine/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.1 Arts education

The Bologna process started officially in the Ukraine on 19 May 19 2005, after signing the Declaration in the city of Bergen. There is a list of high schools and universities, particularly the Kyiv Polytechnic University, the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, and the National Medic University and others, which have been selected as pilot institutions for implementing the necessary changes, including transformation of the education structure, curricular and testing / monitoring methods. However, as the rector of the National Academy of Music, V. Rozhok, indicated, no art high school is taking part in this experiment: "There are no representatives of art high schools in boards coordinating the adaptation of national experiences to European practice. Artists do not take part in international seminars and meetings regarding the reform of higher education. If the Ministry of Education and Science has forgotten art education, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has not lobbied on behalf of our interests in time".

Primary arts education is available at 1 485 art schools, all of which are financed from local budgets and by fees. Secondary and special education is provided by 6 state-managed art schools, 2 state-managed professional schools, and 59 municipal-managed colleges. 10 higher education establishments, including the National Academy of Music, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, two State Conservatories, the Theatre Institute, the Institute of Arts, and the University of Culture, provide post-graduate courses, and 3 provide doctorate courses.

The main problems in the arts education system are:

lack of technical equipment in schools;
insufficient financing and resources for maintenance; and
outdated curricula.

Ukrainian writers have a tradition of actively co-operating with colleges and higher education institutions e.g. there are some special lectures in the National University that are delivered by writers and dedicated to the history and theory of literature.

Recently, especially in the regions, e-facilities found in libraries are being actively used to provide students with, on the one hand, computer skills and on the other hand, up to date information during special studying sessions in libraries.

Cultural and arts education is defined as one of the main objectives in recent governmental programmes for cultural development.

Management training courses, provided by the State Academy, for staff of culture and arts institutions have not yet been updated to take into account the changing requirements of modern society.

In 2004, the independent Development Centre for Arts Management was created in Kyiv, on the basis of the Theatre Institute and the Programme for arts-management training (the Centre for Applied Cultural Management) started in Odessa with support of the Swiss Cultural Programme in South-East Europe and Ukraine.

Ukraine/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.2 Intercultural education

Each school in Ukraine has special hours dedicated to peace and tolerance when students learn about other cultures. In many educational establishments, including high schools, there are classes on the EU and European values. Intercultural education is mainly administered by the Ministry of Education and Science and respective educational bodies on all levels. The programmes focus mainly on shared European values, tolerance principles, equality and information about world cultures.

Many schools, especially with foreign language education, organise days of specific cultures, festivals, and develop correspondence with respective schools and institutions in other countries. Many international organisations (e.g. the British Council, Goethe Institute) carry out special competitions for literature or journalism or film works about the vision of European history, present or future, among high school or university level students in the Ukraine.

There have also been different initiatives on the city and county levels, such as the International Festival of Children's Folklore in the city of Kuznetsovsk, Rivne region. In 2006, children from 7 countries (Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, Montenegro, Moldova, Georgia, and Byelorussia) and 7 oblasts of Ukraine demonstrated customs and traditions of their countries and presented dances and songs.

In the summer 2006, seven of the best students from the Kyiv Choreographic College took part in the 25th Festival of national schools of classic dance in Italy. The Italian media named the young artists from Ukraine, the winners of this Festival, as "Kyiv's Angels".

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section.

Ukraine/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.1 Amateur arts

Each locality of the Ukraine is traditionally rich in authentic folk arts and amateur arts. During last years local communities not only preserved existing type of the amateur arts but also developed new ones including youth and national minority subcultures. Now, along with such traditional types of the amateur arts in the Ukraine as brass band music, orchestras of folk instruments, choral singing, choreographic art and dancing, amateur theatre, decorative and applied art, embroidery, etc. one can meet modern genres generated by new technologies and social evolution: pop song studios, groups of acoustic music, multimedia art, computer graphic, etc. The All-Ukrainian review of the folk and amateur arts (2001) demonstrated the wide spectrum of amateur arts existing in each region. Regular reviews of localities in regional centres enforce local authorities to promote and support local amateur initiatives providing them with costumes, equipment, funds.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine database, there are about 350 amateur theatres, 60 folk and amateur orchestras. To illustrate the multiplicity of amateur groups and artists in Ukraine it is sufficient to examine a separate region or town. For instance, in the Ternopil region (Western Ukraine) with a population of 1.14 million persons (2.3% of the population of Ukraine) of which (57.3%) reside in rural areas, there are about 3.5 thousand amateur groups associating above 50 thousand persons. Only in a separate locality, Gusiatyn rayon, which has 65 small towns, villages and settlements with a total population of 68 thousand persons, there are 192 amateur groups associating 2 535 persons.

Regular festivals and exhibitions of the amateur arts, such as the Annual Brass Band Parade in the city of Ternopil, festivals of music and dance art such as "Colourful Wreath" (Dnipropetrovsk) and "Artistic Colours" (Pryluky), "Theatre Spring" (Kherson), "Theatre Autumn" (Pryluky), "Stage" (Kirovograd), exhibitions "Pictorial Ukraine" and others are also worth mentioning.

Ukraine/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.2 Cultural houses and community cultural clubs

The preservation of the network of cultural clubs and centres inherited from Soviet times has been a priority of the Ministry of Culture over the last years. In the rural communities these clubs and centres remain the main centre of cultural life and the platform for the development of amateur arts. For example, there are 976 clubs in the Poltava region with a population of 1.7 million. These clubs run 5 250 amateur circles, groups and associations, with 63 434 persons attending. In general, there are 104 068 various groups and circles, in clubs and houses of culture, with more than 900 000 participants.

Lack of financing and the transformation from state run institutions into community property led to a significant decrease in the number of clubs and cultural centres (see Table 12).

Table 12: Number of cultural clubs in Ukraine, in thousands, 1990-2006

Year	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002	2004	2005	2006
Clubs	25.1	23.9	23.3	22.4	20.9	20.4	19.9	19.4	19.1	19.0

Source: State Statistics Committee, 2007.

In 2001, the Ministry of Culture adopted a programme to support regional cultural initiatives to prevent the number of cultural clubs from further decreasing. The main problems of these institutions are maintenance and personnel: only about 5% of all clubs and cultural centres in the rural areas are provided with modern technology, and only 60% of the staff is cultural specialists, 6% of whom have higher education. 30-40% of existing cultural clubs require repair or renewal; in some regions (Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Odessa, Poltava, Donetsk) this number is above 50%. In most regions, many cultural clubs are not heated in winter. Cultural club employees in all regions have not received their full wages and work mostly part-time; in some areas they received only 0.5, 0.25 or even 0.1 share of their wage, which is the lowest among other sectors.

Diagram 3: Part time employment in cultural clubs in rural areas in regions of Ukraine, 2005

Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, 2005.

Recent and important policy measures include:

the cultural and art action "Arts of a Single Village" (2002);
All-Ukrainian Review of Folk Art (2002); and
participation of amateur collectives of Ukraine in CIOFF (International Council on Organising Folkloric Festivals); and AITA / IATA (International Association of Theatres Amateur) activities;
Order of the Minister of Culture "Provision on a Club Establishment" (2007). It should strengthen the status and competence of cultural club establishment, especially in the rural area.

In 2005, President Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Resolution On Banning the Closure of Social and Cultural Institutions in Rural Areas, with the aim to stabilise the situation; however, there is no financial mechanism to support this aim. In pursuit of the Presidential Edict on State Support of Training Specialists for Rural Areas of 19 March 2005, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine established an annual quota of places in educational establishments for rural youth within the limits of the state order.

New multi-functional cultural institutions were formed during 2003-2005 in many regions, like cultural centres, folk and craft centres, club-museum, club-library, etc.

During the last years, several new non-governmental centres and associations appeared throughout the country. In 2002, many of them united under the National Association of Culture and Art NGOs "Art-Forum". Representing a wide range of cultural organisations, membership includes e.g. the Centre of Modern Art (Kiev), the Charity Foundation "Open World" (Lviv), the Association of Creative Women of Zakarpatia "New Form" (Uzhgorod), the Kherson City Centre of Youth Initiatives "Totem", the International Public Organisation "New Music Association" (Odessa), etc. The Art-Forum is a member of the Public Council on Culture at the Parliament Committee on Culture.

Ukraine/ 9. Sources and Links

9.1 Key documents on cultural policy

Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine: State Cultural and Tourist Policies Implementation: Priorities, Achievements, Perspectives - Analytical Report for 2006 of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine. Only in Ukrainian. Also available from: http://www.mincult.gov.ua

European Programme of Cultural Policy Reviews - Cultural Policy in Ukraine National Report (English and Ukrainian version) - http://www.culturalstudies.in.ua
Also available- English version from: http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_cooperation/culture/policies/reviews/Ukraine.asp#TopOfPage; Ukrainian version from: http://www.mincult.gov.ua

Council of Europe, Steering Committee for Culture (CDCULT), National Cultural Policy Review of Ukraine, Experts' Report (CDCULT (2007) 15, 23 April 2007), presented at the 6th Plenary Session, Strasbourg, 9 - 11 May 2007. http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_cooperation/culture/policies/reviews/Ukraine.asp#TopOfPage

Cultural Actors of Change in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. East European Reflection Group. European Cultural Foundation. Available from: http://www.eurocult.org/we-advocate/stimulating-reflection-debate/east-european-reflection-group/

British Council Ukraine, Report on the training needs of cultural institutions and organisations in Odessa, June 2007, also available at: http://www.culturebase.net/project_detail.php?201 or from the British Council Ukraine at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/ukraine.htm

SWOT Analysis conducted by the Development Centre "Democracy through Culture" in preparation of the 2007 Ukraine Profile for the Council of Europe/ERICarts, "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe", 8th Edition, 2007. Also available from http://www.model21.org.ua

Culture policies in Ukraine (humanitarian security, language, education). International Centre of Perspective Studies. Kyiv, 2007. Only in Ukrainian. Also available from: http://www.icps.com.ua

British Council: Memorandum: International Forum on Culture and National Identity "Indigenous Cultures of Crimea and their Role in the Future of Ukraine". Crimea, Ukraine. British Council, Ukraine, 2002. Available also from: http://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/.

Dialogue. Information-analytical bulletin. Volume 5. Ukraine: Cultural Profile, Trends and Initiatives. Kyiv: Information and Analytical Centre "Democracy through Culture", 2004. Available also from: http://www.model21.org.ua

Dialogue. Information-analytical bulletin. Volume 6. Swdish Model of Cultural Welfare. Kyiv: Development Centre "Democracy through Culture", 2006. (Ukrainian version only). Available also from: http://www.model21.org.ua

Conceptual Framework of the Public Cultural Policy of Ukraine for 2005-2007. Draft Law: Dialogue. Volume 5: 2004. Available also from: http://www.model21.org.ua

Fleming, Tom: Agents of Change: Creative Intermediaries in the Ukraine. DGIV/CULT/CCC (2004) 15 - Exp. Council of Europe.

Ukraine/ 9. Sources and Links

9.2 Key organisations and portals

Cultural policy making bodies

Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine
http://www.mincult.gov.ua

Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine
http://www.rada.gov.ua

Presidential Secretariat
http://www.president.gov.ua/content/300.html

Professional associations

National Association of Culture and Art NGOs "Art-Forum"
http://www.artforum.kiev.ua

Association of Ukrainian Writers
http://www.aup.iatp.org.ua

National Writers' Union of Ukraine
http://www.nspu.kiev.ua

Grant-giving bodies