October 17 – International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
@WOMEN Plus at the UNESCO World Conference MONDIACULT 2025
The conference on cultural policy and sustainable development took place in Barcelona. It gathered 165 official delegations and around 300 civil society organizations.
Our NGO was represented by:
Liliia Gyrenko
Nataliia Lysenko
Julia Pischanska
Among the key topics were cultural rights, digital transformation, education, cultural economy, climate action, peacebuilding, and the role of artificial intelligence in the cultural sphere.
Main takeaways from the meetings:
✔️ Culture is the most effective mechanism for understanding one another
✔️ For every country, culture is one of the key components of sustainable development
✔️ Young people should know who they are, where they come from, where they are going, and why
✔️ AI is a tool for preserving culture and addressing the needs of inclusion
✔️ Culture is a space open to opportunities, sustainable development, and gender equality
Highlights related to Ukraine:
📌 Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Anastasiia Bondar, spoke about the current development of the cultural sector
📌 The UNESCO project “Lviv Cultural Hub” was presented – a space for professional growth, support of creative practices, and international cooperation
Main achievements of the trip:
✅ Discussed the issue of preserving elements of the region’s intangible cultural heritage, as well as practical ways to support the bearers of ICH elements, particularly “Cossack Songs of the Dnipropetrovsk Region,” which are included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding
✅ Planned cooperation with international organizations aimed at preserving the “Cossack Songs of the Dnipropetrovsk Region”
✅ Reached agreements on collaboration with international organizations ICOM, AFD Group, and Celhto-ua
✔️ We support the joint statement with experts and representatives of civil society from the ICH NGO Forum to strengthen the recognition of living heritage as both a driving force and an independent cultural goal within sustainable development. The next step is the adoption of the statement at the next UNESCO General Assembly.
Thanks to UNESCO for the invitation.
