Europa Nostra Secretary General joins the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund

As part of its continued solidarity with Ukraine, Europa Nostra’s Secretary General, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović joined the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund (UCHF), a newly established international multi-donor platform dedicated to protecting, restoring and developing Ukraine’s cultural heritage and culture in response to the devastating impact of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s cultural heritage has been under relentless attack. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, more than 1,482 cultural heritage sites and over 2,300 cultural infrastructure facilities have been destroyed or damaged. These losses represent not only damage to monuments, museums and historic buildings, but also attacks on Ukraine’s identity, collective memory and democratic values.

Officially launched during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) in Rome and legally registered in Brussels as a non-profit association, the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund has been established as an independent mechanism to mobilise international and national resources for the protection, restoration and long-term development of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. The Fund complements the work of organisations such as ALIPH, UNESCO, ICCROM and the World Monuments Fund, which have been supporting the protection of Ukraine’s heritage since the beginning of the war.

 

A major milestone in the establishment of the Fund was reached on 4 September 2025, when Tetiana Berezhna, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, and Valéry Freland, Executive Director of ALIPH, signed a Memorandum of Understanding formally establishing the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund. The Fund’s headquarters will be in Brussels, Belgium, with a representative office in Ukraine.

The Fund aims to coordinate and manage international financial assistance for Ukraine’s cultural heritage through a transparent and accountable governance structure. Its objectives include mobilising donor contributions, organising competitive project calls, supporting the digital transformation of heritage management, strengthening the professional cultural community and promoting the long-term resilience of Ukraine’s cultural sector.

 

In its first phase, the Fund will focus on the conservation of damaged monuments, the restoration of movable heritage collections and the creation of secure storage facilities for paintings, sculptures, archaeological collections and museum objects evacuated from threatened areas. In the longer term, it will support the reconstruction and restoration of immovable cultural heritage sites damaged by the war.

The governance structure of the UCHF includes a General Assembly, a Board of Directors, specialised advisory committees and a Secretariat led by the newly appointed Executive Director, Oleksandra Kovalchuk. As a member of the Board of Directors, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović will contribute to the Fund’s strategic direction and governance, helping to ensure that European and international support is effectively mobilised and translated into concrete recovery projects.

Commenting on her appointment, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović said: “Europa Nostra has stood in solidarity with Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression, advocating for stronger international action to safeguard the country’s cultural heritage and supporting initiatives that place culture at the heart of recovery and reconstruction. My appointment to the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund will further reinforce Europa Nostra’s support to the impressive heritage community in Ukraine, as part of our overall commitment to saving Europe’s endangered heritage.”

 

During the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2026) on 25-26 June in Gdańsk, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund have secured contributions and mobilised €4.3 million in initial funding. The participation in the Conference strengthened international partnerships, fundraising efforts and recognition of cultural heritage as a key element of Ukraine’s recovery. A key achievement was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the recovery and long-term development of the Ivankiv Museum of Maria Prymachenko. Other projects presented included emergency response mechanisms, secure storage facilities for evacuated collections, digitisation of collections and support for damaged cultural institutions. Following the conference, the Fund will continue engaging with public partners (including Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Greece and Serbia), explore private-sector cooperation, and strengthen its institutional development through a long-term membership and partnership strategy.

The scale of the challenge remains immense. UNESCO estimates that the recovery of Ukraine’s cultural sector will require at least US$4.1 billion, including around US$3 billion for the reconstruction of historic cities, monuments and heritage sites. As Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications has underlined, the war has made it unmistakably clear that culture is an integral component of national security. Cultural heritage is far more than buildings or collections: it embodies identity, memory, shared values and the resilience of a democratic society.