Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, believes that further development of relations between Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland in the humanitarian sector is an important factor of accession to a single European spiritual space and formation of a new architecture of the common European home.
In his speech at the 4th Meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland in Kyiv on Tuesday, V. Lytvyn emphasized that the parliamentarians of our states have a common responsibility for the further development of relations in the humanitarian sector. "It is the dynamics and intensity of regular relations between the nations that mark present Ukrainian-Lithuanian-Polish relations, thus, they are guarantees of the formation of a new architecture of the common European home", he believes.
According to V. Lytvyn, implementation of the common program of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine entitled "Common Cultural Heritage of Ukraine and Poland" should strengthen the relations in the humanitarian sector. The program envisages research work dedicated to the memorial of common culture of Ukraine and Poland, and historical figure of both states.
He is convinced that renovation of "Summer UNESCO School" for the specialists in the sphere of cultural heritage protection in the territory of Ukraine and Poland is of special importance to prepare qualified specialists, restorers in particular. V. Lytvyn calls for searching the ways to attract Lithuanian specialists to this program.
V. Lytvyn laid emphasis on the joined archeological investigations and expeditions of the Ukrainian and Polish specialists, especially, those working upon the antique culture in the Crimea and its influence on European civilization. The researches share common experience of the methods of archeological memorial restoration, and are working upon creation of an archeological map of Ukraine, he added.
Ukrainian and Polish specialists have a great progress in cross-border cooperation in the sphere of wooden churches preservation, declared the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament. He hopes that in 2012 UNESCO will agree to the conclusions of ICOMOS experts and adopt a positive decision regarding inclusion of Ukrainian-Polish project "Wooden Churches of Carpathian Region and Poland" into the World Heritage List.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is convinced that a new Center for Protection of Cultural Inheritance in Zhovkva town that shall be set up with the assistance of Ministries of Culture of Ukraine and Poland, which will bear a great positive impact on the development of restoration works in the whole Central-Eastern Europe.
Volodymyr Lytvyn supposes that launch of the exchange programs for the museum specialists in Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, as well as programs of museum exhibits exchange will be an essential move towards strengthening cultural positions in the region, promoting common cultural heritage in the world.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament calls for looking for the ways to use the European Funds for the personnel training and organization of the protection system in the sphere of cultural heritage under the direction of cultural heritage management. "We should use all the opportunities provided by the EU initiatives within "the Eastern Partnership." We expect it to start the work finally, especially in the parliamentary dimension of EURONEST", he explained.
V. Lytvyn also called for supporting the practices similar to the Polish Gaude Polonia Scholarship Programme for young foreign cultural professionals.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada stressed the importance and results of the cooperation between expert groups, namely historical- archival, librarian, artistic specialists in terms of specific proposals on mutual return of lost values, and development of the future destiny of cultural monuments of common interest.
V. Lytvyn deems necessary to continue work upon the materials on Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish ethnology in library funds of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, and hold joint researches of library histories and their losses in the course of the Second World War.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called for supporting the opportunities in the sphere of cultural values exchange between Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish museums aimed at long-term expositions.
"Planned and balanced development of these directions shall be supported by the governmental structures, since it facilitates not only development of partnership relations and good-neighbourliness between the states, but also Ukraine´s accession to the general European processes and strengthening of interpersonal communication. We are not going to prove our membership in Europe; even more, we shall work relying on the fact that we all are good neighbors in a single Europe," he summed up.