The loss of Ukrainian cultural assets is not merely collateral damage of Russia's war of aggression. On the contrary, the destruction of Ukrainian tangible and intangible culture is a strategic goal of Putin's. Museums, monument preservation, and other forms of cultural heritage protection therefore play an essential role in Ukraine, both in safeguarding cultural artifacts and in dealing with memories and cultural narratives during and after the current war situation. Particularly in eastern Ukraine and in smaller museums outside the major cities, cultural workers often lack the expertise to deal with this situation. In the area of monument preservation, robust structures are entirely absent.

This is where Cultural Guardians: A Cross-Border Cultural Heritage Program comes in. With a strong coalition of project partners, Cultural Guardians offers a capacity-building format that invites employees from cultural heritage institutions to Poland and Germany for knowledge exchange, creating added value for all involved. In a structured program, cultural workers from Ukraine will learn both practical and theoretical approaches to dealing with conflict-laden history in a museum context and in monument preservation in both countries. German and Polish partners will also have the opportunity to learn from the Ukrainian participants and apply their experiences with resilience building to their own contexts. The program's target groups include employees in museums, monument preservation, and archives, as well as in related projects, but also students and academics from various disciplines. The goal is to build a strong Ukrainian-Polish-German alumni network to strengthen cooperation and competence transfer in the fields of museums, monument preservation, archives, and related institutions.

The program is scheduled to be piloted in summer/autumn 2025. The first run will involve approximately ten participants and will consist of three parts: a preparatory phase in conjunction with the OBMIN Conference in Warsaw in June, followed by an approximately ten-day study trip to Poland and Berlin-Brandenburg, including a scientific seminar at Europa-Universität Viadrina, and a subsequent optional job shadowing at a German institution.

The program is under the patronage of Dr. Manja Schüle, Minister for Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg, and is organized by the following consortium partners:

The OBMIN Foundation is the largest network of Ukrainian museums. It currently comprises 147 museums, including evacuated institutions from Russian-occupied territories: national, regional, and local museums covering all topics such as history, art and literature, technology, or regional minorities. In addition to targeted assistance in individual cases, OBMIN offers the opportunity to network and develop common positions on topics such as reconstruction, and strengthens the establishment and expansion of international cooperation among its members. Learn more: www.obmin.eu

The Association of State Monument Authorities in Germany (VDL) promotes knowledge transfer in the field of monument preservation and the maintenance and preservation of existing buildings in Germany and beyond. Monuments and historical buildings are an essential basis of architectural culture that must be preserved for the present and developed for the future. Learn more: https://www.vdl-denkmalpflege.de/

The KIU Competence Network for Interdisciplinary Ukraine Studies Frankfurt (Oder)-Berlin at Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) strengthens Ukraine-related research, teaching, and networking in the capital region and internationally. Innovative research, new study programs, and successful transfer of Ukraine-relevant knowledge between academia, politics, business, and society are the focus of this project, funded by the DAAD. Learn more: https://www.kiu.europa-uni.de/en/

Information in German: Download file