Intercultural forum “Cities of Reciprocity: Intercultural Dialogue as a Path to Unity” starts in Lutsk
The intercultural forum “Cities of Reciprocity: Intercultural Dialogue as a Path to Unity” has begun in the Lutsk business space. The event aims to lay the foundation for long-term and effective cooperation between cities of the Ukrainian and global networks of intercultural cities, to promote the development of shared strategies, and to form a common vision for the future.
The forum takes place within the Council of Europe’s “Intercultural Cities” (ICC) Programme, implemented by the Department of Culture of the Lutsk City Council in partnership with the intercultural cities Lublin (Poland) and Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region), with funding from the Council of Europe. Participants arrived from Pavlohrad, Sumy, Vinnytsia, and Melitopol, while representatives from Poland joined both in person and online.
Lutsk City Mayor Ihor Polishchuk welcomed the forum’s participants. He noted that Lutsk is the city where, in 1429, the first congress of European monarchs took place – an event that can rightly be considered a prototype of modern European summits. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a resolution to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Congress of European Monarchs in Lutsk at the national level.
Online, the forum was joined by Torsten Afflerbach, Head of the Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes Division, Anti-Discrimination Department, Directorate of Equality and Human Dignity, Directorate-General II – Democracy, of the Council of Europe.
“At the local level, the Council of Europe continues to support Ukrainian municipalities. Through the Intercultural Cities Programme, cities such as Lutsk, Melitopol, Odesa, Pavlohrad, Sumy, and Vinnytsia are active members of our network. Their work, especially since 2022, has been remarkable – from hosting internally displaced persons to promoting intercultural dialogue, providing art therapy for children, and supporting minorities and people with disabilities. We are proud to support your collective efforts to develop sustainable, inclusive responses to these challenges. We look forward to the results of the ‘Cities of Reciprocity’ project and to continuing this vital shared work,” he said.
The forum’s moderator, Tetiana Hnativ, Director of the Department of Culture, noted that Lutsk has always been a crossroads of cultures, languages, and traditions – a tremendous resource for community development and exchange of ideas and experiences. During the first panel discussion, representatives of intercultural cities shared how interculturalism became a source of resilience during the full-scale invasion.
During subsequent panel discussions, forum participants explored other topics, including:
- Intercultural policy as a path to building unity, resilience, and a shared vision of the future;
- Without discrimination: how to build open communities;
- Inclusion in action: the community as a space of equal opportunities;
- Countering disinformation and building resilience in an intercultural city.
Department of informational work,
Department of International Cooperation and Project Activities