Since the start of the war in Ukraine, ICOM UK has been in contact with our partners both within the UK and in other European countries to provide assistance where we can. We have been connecting people who want to help with those who are in need of help. The situation in Ukraine changes rapidly – one of our European partners was planning help for a library only yesterday, and today this library no longer exists. In addition, the first wave of grassroots assistance is now followed by more systematic coordination through governments and international bodies. Consequently, much of the information published in the past few weeks is already out of date. Hence I would like to take this opportunity of informing you of the latest information we are able to share with the UK sector.
The different routes for helping Ukrainian museums and sector colleagues include:
Support of refugees from Ukrainian museums in the UK: Ukrainian colleagues in exile require sponsorship to be able to come to the UK. The Institute of Conservation (Icon) has created a Basecamp discussion list to provide information and assistance to enable UK museum sector colleagues to sponsor an Ukrainian colleague (and/or their family). Ukrainian colleagues may also seek job opportunities in the UK, which is important to maintain skills. If you are interested in sponsoring a refugee, or hosting a work placement for them in the museum/heritage sector, and would like more information, please drop Donnatella Banti donatella.banti@gmail.com a line who will be happy to add you (and give access) to this Basecamp list. In addition, there are two other Basecamp lists: Guidance (emergency guidance), and Material Aid (conservation materials).
Materials and equipment for Ukrainian museums: Many colleagues around the UK have shown an amazing willingness to support the evacuation and protection of cultural heritage collections in Ukraine by proposing to send conservation and packing materials. The most effective route of delivering this help is now via the Polish National Institute of Heritage (NID) which coordinates the transport of equipment destined for Ukrainian museums on behalf of the Polish Ministry of Culture. NID have, in the past couple of weeks, supported more than 30 museums in Ukraine. Transport into Ukraine is now very difficult without government bodies, and NID fulfil this role. In addition, half of the NID team is Ukrainian and, through close communication with the Ukrainian heritage sector, able to supply up-to-date lists of needs (which change rapidly, depending on which museums/archives/libraris require support). As a general rule, items requested by NID should be palletised and require appropriate documentation for speedy processing; they are delivered to Warsaw where they are re-packed for specific museums and sent straight to the respective museums. – One early route, which has been publicised widely in the UK, involved the Warsaw Rising Museum and Lviv; however, this route has only been able to support a couple of museums, and transport still has to be coordinated via NID. On the other hand, too many supplies currently arrive in Lviv and not enough elsewhere. Hence, our Polish colleagues advocate that the route through NID is the most effective at supporting Ukrainian museums. ICOM UK is in regular contact with NID and able to assist with further information; one of the next steps is going to be to provide information to the UK sector on needs, documentation and transport logistics.
Support of Ukrainian museum sector colleagues arriving in Poland as refugees: our partners at ICOM Poland have set up grants to support museum sector workers financially for three months, and to assist with settlement and finding work (ideally in the cultural sector to avoid the loss of skills). ICOM Poland have a bank account to collate donations in support of their fund to pay these grants, and would very much welcome donations, including from international supporters, to enable a continuation of these grants. The dedicated email address for enquiries about this fund is helpukraine@icompolska.eu. There are early discussions about a similar scheme in the UK but so far no funding route has been identified.
During an online meeting on Wednesday 6 April, ICOM Europe national committees (including ICOM UK) discussed the responses from various countries. Alternative transport routes into Ukraine are being explored, the need for a Red List of Ukrainian cultural heritage to counteract illicit traffic was raised, and ICOM was urged to help coordinate/create a hub for information coming from different countries. ICOM also has an eye on the future and the need to rebuild once hostilities seize.
Written by Christian Baars, Co-Chair of ICOM UK, on Wednesday 6 April 2022
