The nationwide action “Let’s Revive Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage” was launched last week. For the fourth year in a row youth work groups from different corners of Ukraine — Chernihiv, Lviv, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, and other oblasts — have assembled in Kyiv to take part in this civic initiative.
The decision to involve groups of student activists in tidying up neglected historic sites is the brainchild of Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports, the Kyiv Youth Labor Center, and other civic organizations. Their work will be focused on restoring the grounds of preserves in Belz and Pidhorets-Plisnytsky, cleaning and tidying up castle and park grounds in Tartakiv, Dobromyl, Busk, the Khortytsia National Preserve in Zaporizhia oblast, the grounds of Lutsk Castle, and many other historic sites.
The Kyiv State Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways was the start of these restoration measures, with volunteers cleaning the grounds and restoring old houses.
According to family, youth, and sports minister Viktor Korzh, this action is extremely important and timely. “We focused our attention on cultural and historic heritage sites first of all because it is interesting for young people to be involved in this kind of work, and second, because these splendid green areas represent not only the beauty of nature; they are also the lungs of cities. Young people from all over Ukraine have come here. It is pleasant for students from the Lviv region to restore the Karpaty site on the grounds of the State Museum. If not for this work, many students would have to save money for a train ticket to the capital, food, and excursions. But we are covering all expenses. This work is completely voluntary, and those activists for whom the capital is not enough will be able to go on to restore cultural and historic sites in other regions of Ukraine.”
