On 24 and 25 October 2024, a workshop on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in Ukraine entitled ‘ European Cultural Routes: the path to sustainable development of Ukrainian heritage’ was organised by the Department of City Marketing and Tourism of Vinnytsia City Council, the Department of International Cooperation and Regional Economic Development of Vinnytsia Regional Administration, and the Vinnytsia Regional Development Agency. The workshop brought together a large number of participants from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, local authorities and representatives of the country's cultural institutions, museums and NGOs.
The workshop highlighted a shared commitment to integrating Ukrainian heritage into the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme.
During the workshop, participants explored the ‘the Way must go on’ initiative and the prospects for expanding the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes in Ukraine. A cooperation protocol was signed by Zhmerynka town council, the Via Regia Ukraine association of cultural and artistic centres and the Association of Friends of the Way of St James in Ukraine. The main developments discussed at the workshop also included the extension of the Camino Podolico and the creation of a new route, the Camino Galitziano, linking Chortkiv to Lviv, with a final connection at the European Union border.
The Council of Europe and Ukraine
Ukraine has been a member of the EPA since 2021 and is crossed by 11 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. Ukraine is expressing a strong commitment to the promotion and development of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme in the country.
At the 4th Council of Europe Summit held in Iceland in May 2023, the 46 Heads of State of the Council of Europe established a Register of Damage for Ukraine. This register centralises information on the victims and destruction caused by the Russian Federation's aggression in Ukraine, including that affecting cultural heritage, such as historic sites, monuments and works of art.
