On December 9 at the initiative of the Committee on Foreign Affairs a round-table was held on the topic "Cultural Diplomacy: interaction of government and non-government institutions." The round-table was attended by people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, leadership of local institutions in the field of culture, artists, art managers, art scientists, etc.
The main purpose of the meeting was to comprehensively discuss the formation of the future national strategy concerning the promotion of a positive image of Ukraine abroad and stimulation of Ukrainian cultural product’s spreading in the world.
Participants of the round-table discussed the draft law "On Ukrainian Institute" elaborated by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, which should outline mechanisms for cooperation of civil society and the State in the promotion of Ukrainian culture abroad. In this context the Chairperson of the Committee Hanna Hopko proposed to establish a working group under the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and to engage MPs, representatives of the public and government officials to finalize and coordinate the said draft law.
During the meeting the participants were informed about the main activities in the field of culture, carried out by Ukraine abroad in 2015, and discussed the plans of such activities for the next year, the needs and next steps for further development of cultural diplomacy, improvement of inter-agency cooperation and cooperation of government bodies of Ukraine with representatives of the art community.
In addition, they addressed the issues of organization and conduct by the public together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine of the Second Forum on Public Diplomacy.The participants of the round-table pointed to the need to promote Ukraine’s positive image in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, particularly through the announced Documentary Film Festival "Road to Peace." Special attention was paid to the need to involve the diaspora and networks of allies in the world to promote the interests of Ukraine especially amidst the counteraction to the Russian aggression.
In connection with the approaching of celebration of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence the participants of the event pointed to the need to increase financial contributions, which should be reflected in the State Budget for 2016, with the aim of promotion of this national holiday as an influential tool of spreading of Ukraine’s positive image in the world.
The round-table participants found its expedient to listen to a report on the implementation of approved by the Presidential Decree of January 12, 2015 No.5 / 2015 Program 'Sustainable Development Strategies "Ukraine - 2020"' to popularize Ukraine in the world and promote the interests of Ukraine in the global information space.