The Ukrainian Institute presented a cultural program at the
Crimea Platform Summit
Within the framework of the fourth summit of the international Crimea platform, the Ukrainian Institute, together with the Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, presented a cultural program aimed at immersing the participants of the platform in the deep history of resistance to the occupation of Crimea and highlighting the consequences of Russian aggression.
The program has become a powerful tool of cultural diplomacy aimed at drawing attention to the tragic events in the occupied territories through art, personal stories and artefacts.
The exhibition consisted of three key components, each of which opened up a new dimension of understanding life under occupation and the struggle for freedom.
‘Women’s Resistance in Crimea’ – an art exhibition about women’s resistance in Crimea for an international audience. The exhibition is devoted to the image of a woman in the context of occupied Crimea, where she overcomes the difficulties of life under occupation and demonstrates the struggle for her rights and freedoms. The curator is Tetiana Filevska, creative director of the Ukrainian Institute.
“The decade of occupation of Crimea means lost homes, separated families, hundreds of political prisoners among civilians. Through the works of female artists from Crimea and Donetsk region, the stories of defenders and children, we can see life behind the news headlines, reflect on losses and pain, stand in solidarity with those who resist and build a common horizon for the future,” said Tetiana Filevska, creative director of the Ukrainian Institute
Through children’s war stories, the exhibition of objects of the Museum of Military Childhood ‘Ukraine Outside a Porthole’ gives a deeper understanding of the occupation and its consequences for the occupied communities.
‘Qarşılıq / Resistance 2.0’ presents items of soldiers who are from Crimea and representatives of indigenous peoples of Ukraine who continue to resist. These objects may seem quite ordinary, but each has a deep symbolic meaning and connects the heroes of the exhibition with their native Crimea.
“Crimean Tatar culture is the basis of self-identity of the Crimean Tatar people and an important factor in their security. The occupiers in Crimea are trying to destroy our identity, so today the Crimean Tatar culture and language in Ukraine and the world have become the voice of the free people of the peninsula,” said Alim Aliev, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute.
The Crimea Platform Summit is an international coordination mechanism initiated by Ukraine to return the Crimean issue to the agenda, protect human rights, promote the de-occupation of the peninsula, and strengthen European and global security. This year, the summit of the international Crimean platform was held for the fourth time.