Polish Ministry of Culture to assist in digitalization of museum collections in Ukraine

In 2022, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, Solidarity Fund PL, and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine launched a project titled “Implementation of the electronic register system of the Museum Fund of Ukraine”. The relevant memorandum of cooperation was signed between the International Solidarity Fund and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, announced Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy.

The state-owned part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine currently comprises more than 12 million items. With the outbreak of a full-scale war, the need for digitalization of Ukraine’s museum resources has become urgent. With shelling, looting, and destruction of museums, records containing all the important information about museum valuables are being destroyed.

“Implementation of this project will allow us to understand the status and location of each item, automate document preparation for relocation, and enable interoperability with other state registers and European cultural communities. We are working to preserve our heritage,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko.

The project will create an electronic register and provide appropriate training for specialists to operate it. Museums or institutions authorized to store items of the state-owned part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine will be able to independently integrate data on museum items that are being stored, renovated, transported or lost into the register.

The register will be available for interaction with the state and international systems and services to obtain permits for the export of cultural property and further integration of Ukraine into the European art community. In addition, open data from the register will be published on an information website to promote Ukrainian art and museum collections.