Ukrainian Institute works to raise awareness of Russia's destruction of Ukrainian culture
The Ukrainian Institute, with the support of USAID in Ukraine and KYIFORNIA, launched the international campaign Postcards from Ukraine.
Rubryka reports that the campaign is set to tell the world about Russia's targeted destruction of objects of Ukrainian culture, which embody the history of the Ukrainian people and the entire European civilization.
What is the problem?
The destruction of Ukrainian culture during a large-scale war is not an accident. Russia has been trying to erase the original Ukrainian culture for hundreds of years. Several hundred years of purposeful efforts wanted to destroy everything outstanding: cultural institutions, personalities, and memory.
What is the solution?
To show the world the extent of the destruction, the teams created 100 postcards, a series of 8 videos, exhibitions in 30+ countries, collaborations with Instagram influencers, and special projects with Ukrainian and foreign media.
How does it work?
"We started implementing the project in May 2022: the city streets were still deserted, shelling was daily, and there was a lot of heroism, desperation, and absence of understanding what would happen next," says Yulia Kurova, creative director of KYЇFORNIA. "After the Ukrainian Institute requested us to support the campaign, we jointly developed everything: from the look of the leaflets to video ideas. Soon the project flew around the world and achieved its goal: it told foreigners about the scale of the targeted destruction of Ukrainian culture."
To reflect reality, the team collaged two views of the same building: before and after February 24, 2022. As part of the project, 100 leaflets were created, each of which tells about one specific attraction in Ukrainian and English.
To attract the attention of the international media, the agency created a video, inviting world and Ukrainian stars to become the voices of the destroyed monuments and voice their stories.
British actor Hugh Bonneville, German rapper Malik Harris, Lithuanian singer Monika Lu, and American diplomat Samantha Power participated in the project.
Ukrainian stars, like football player Andrii Yarmolenko, dancer Maksym Chmerkovskiy, band Kalush Orchestra, and band DakhaBrakha, participated in the campaign.
Based on the information from the postcards, the organizers created an exhibition, which, thanks to partners and Ukrainian embassies abroad, was presented in more than 30 countries worldwide.
