On April 1, the President of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mariana Betsa held a meeting of the National Commission in the Bureau format.

At the beginning of the event, Mariana Betsa outlined the priorities of the Ukrainian delegation in the framework of the 224th session of the UNESCO Executive Board. This session will be the first Ukraine will participate in as a member of the Executive Board since our country was elected in 2025 for the period until 2029.

“We continue to consistently make efforts to strengthen the influence and voice of Ukraine in UNESCO, in particular to increase the volume of support for our state, as well as to isolate and hold Russia accountable as an aggressor state that carries out systematic attacks against Ukrainian cultural heritage,” the President of the National Commission emphasized.

In this light, the participants discussed the main tasks in the work of the National Commission, with special attention to key issues in the context of our country’s membership in the UNESCO Executive Board.

During the meeting, the Bureau members focused on a number of practical initiatives that Ukraine plans to implement within the framework of UNESCO in 2026. Particular attention was paid to continuing work with UNESCO regarding the Organization’s response to the destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage as a result of the ongoing Russian aggression, in particular, in the context of the recent Russian missile attack that caused damage to historical buildings within the historical center of Lviv, which is under enhanced protection by UNESCO.

The heads of the sectors of the National Commission informed about their activities, presented work plans, reported on current initiatives in the areas of the Organization’s program activities, and presented key projects for cooperation with UNESCO.

Following the results of the meeting, further steps were agreed to actively promote Ukraine’s interests in UNESCO and strengthen the positions of our country in the international arena.