Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday a $4.8 million contribution to protect cultural and heritage sites in Ukraine.
Posted at 2:45 p.m.
This is the announcement that Mr. Trudeau made at the end of the day in Brussels at the end of a visit where he participated in the NATO summit, a G7 meeting and various bilateral activities.
The funds were raised by the departments of Canadian Heritage and Parks Canada as well as by the Canada Council for the Arts, which is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. They will also be given to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, which will manage them.
“Their combined contribution of $4.8 million to the Fund will support UNESCO’s efforts to respond rapidly to crises arising from armed conflict and disasters, and in particular to the serious threats facing Ukraine,” says in a press release.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, administrators and employees of museums, heritage sites, libraries and cultural institutions of all kinds have been engaged in a race to protect, inventory and hide the country’s heritage treasures.
But already, damage has been observed, as for example in Ivankiv where the municipal museum was razed by a fire.
Several countries and private foundations around the world are currently solicited or have already announced the remittance of funds to help safeguard Ukrainian heritage.