© Stiftung EVZ / Olena Staranchuk
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is having a massive impact on Ukrainian society. The destruction of archives, libraries and museums serves to weaken Ukrainian culture and its identity-forming power and to erase the historical memory of the Ukrainian nation. In our YeMistechko funding program, we support museums, libraries and other cultural institutions that consider themselves identity-forming places, want to shape life in their communities and mobilize people.
In Ukraine, where the first and second places (home and work) are often inaccessible due to war damage and hostilities, social spaces must contribute to the joint shaping of coexistence and respond to current needs. With the funding program “YeMistechko – a place for everyone!”, the EVZ Foundation supports identity-forming and socially relevant institutions such as museums, libraries, and cultural centers in developing into third places and becoming more actively involved in their local communities. The program's target group includes all residents, including those who experience exclusion or are threatened with exclusion from community life. This includes, for example, elderly people, especially survivors of Nazi persecution, members of minorities (Roma, Crimean Tatars, LGBTIQ persons), internally displaced persons, returnees from abroad, and war veterans.
