Appeal by members of the Supervisory Board and the UCF Directorate to the Heads of Factions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Office of the President

The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation is a state institution incorporated in 2017 on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation” with the aim to promote national culture and art in the state, to provide favourable conditions for the development of intellectual and spiritual potential of individuals and society, broad access of citizens to the national cultural heritage, support cultural diversity and integration of Ukrainian culture into the world cultural space.

Based on information received from numerous appeals from cultural institutions, especially those in state and municipal ownership, due to the emergency situation related to the spread of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the introduction of lockdown in Ukraine, restrictive measures, including a complete ban on functioning in January and March-April 2021, restrictions on hall occupancy of no more than 50%, and the fear of potential spectators to attend large gatherings were objective factors that led to a sharp decline in the domestic cultural institutions’ own revenues in 2021 and as a result, debts mainly for utilities consumed.

This primarily affects state and municipal cultural institutions and arts institutions, which have their own premises and integral property complexes on their balance sheets. Maintaining their own buildings in a good state, as well as satisfying the spiritual, aesthetic and artistic needs of citizens, is the main responsibility of domestic cultural institutions.

But under conditions of the pandemic and on the background of constantly rising utility rates (the heating tariff alone in Kyiv for the heating season 2021-2022 will increase by 77%, the same is true for the other regions of Ukraine) it is becoming increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to perform these duties adequately, and the survival of national culture may become an urgent issue in the very near future.

In order to prevent the devastating impact of the pandemic, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation implemented the program “Culture in Times of Crisis: Institutional Support” in the previous year, 2020. The Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” allocated around UAH 650 million for the support and development of cultural and creative industries in times of pandemic. As a result, almost 150 state cultural and arts institutions received specialised financial support.

As a result of the devastating impact of the pandemic on the cultural sector, this year is even more challenging.

In order to avoid increasing debts of domestic cultural institutions and art institutions, first of all those which have premises and integral property complexes on their balance sheets, including for consumed utilities, which can lead to full suspension of activities of these institutions the Supervisory Board and the Directorate of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation address you with a request when considering amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2022” to provide additional budgetary allocations under the budget program 3801140 “Ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, including the implementation of project support activities by the Foundation”, and in particular funds in the amount of UAH 200 million for institutional support of domestic cultural institutions and art institutions, primarily those whose balance sheets include premises and integral property complexes