UNESCO will consider the application for inclusion of Odessa in the World Heritage List

The Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko announced his intention to seek the inclusion of the historical center of Odessa in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The head of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, at a meeting with the Ukrainian minister, supported the application of Ukraine to include Odessa in this list.

“At the request of Ukraine, UNESCO has already mobilized international experts to provide technical support and enable urgent consideration of the Ukrainian nomination by the countries that are part of the World Heritage Committee,” the statement says. statement UNESCO following the meeting with the head of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. In addition, the committee recommended that the cultural sites of Kyiv and Lviv be included in the list of endangered heritage.

As a support, the organization will finance the renovation of the Odessa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odessa Museum of Modern Art, as well as provide funds to hire additional staff to protect the collections of these museums, UNESCO said in a statement.

In addition, the organization will help digitize at least 1,000 works of art from Odessa museums, as well as the documentary collection of the Odessa State Archives. The Department of Culture, Nationalities, Religions and the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Odessa will receive new equipment for the protection of cultural property on the ground: protective panels, sandbags, fire extinguishers, fire-resistant fabrics and gas masks.

Now in the UNESCO World Heritage List are: St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, as well as the ensemble of the historical center of Lviv.

Anastasia Larina