France ushers in Ukrainian cultural season

France has opened its Ukrainian Cultural Season, titled Le Voyage en Ukraine (“Journey to Ukraine”) on Dec. 1, announced Lyuba Lyubchyk, Chair of the UWC’s International Educational Coordinating Council (IECC).

Lyubchyk said, the “program reflects the resilience and creativity of Ukrainian society and its cultural community amid Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.” 

She added that the extensive cultural program will feature 50 Ukrainian events across France. The project will run through April under the slogan “Culture Fights Back.”

The official opening at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was attended by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska and France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron, as well as Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha and France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Also present were French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, heads of the Ukrainian Institute, Volodymyr Sheik, and the French Institute, Eva Nguyen-Binh, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

“Culture is an element of national security, capable of breaking down any wall. Four months of this outstanding cultural program in France is an opportunity to show the French the real Ukraine — our Ukraine,” Lyubchyk said.