The cultural program was an important part of the conference. It had presented the work of Ukrainian cultural diplomacy during the war. The Ukrainian Institute had been involved in the coordination and curatorial support of the URC2024 cultural program. The Ukrainian Institute had presented several projects at the URC 2024.

This included the exhibition “Postcards from Ukraine,” which was organized by the Ukrainian Institute with the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This project had shown the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage as a result of Russian bombing and shelling.

Another exhibition presented was “Palyanytsya” by Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova. This exhibition was part of the Ukrainian Institute’s “Kaleidoscope of (Hi)stories” project. Kadyrova had created her “Palyanytsya” from river rocks from the Zakarpattia region. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they symbolized traditional Ukrainian bread. After February 24, 2022, however, they had taken on an additional symbolic meaning, as Ukrainians had used this word as a code to distinguish Ukrainians from Russians who could not pronounce the word correctly.

The last photo project presented by the Ukrainian Institute at the URC 2024 was called “Ukrainian Jazz Musicians at War”. It featured the stories of Ukrainian jazz musicians who had joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense. Photos of the jazz musicians from their concert life before the war contrasted with their current life at war.

The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, visited these exhibitions. Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, and Kateryna Rietz-Rakul, Head of the UI Representative Office in Germany, guided Olena Zelenska through the exhibitions and told her more about them.