War disrupts not only lives and livelihoods but also the cultural ecosystems that sustain social bonds, identity, and dialogue.
Globally, conflict-driven displacement has reached unprecedented levels, fracturing communities and limiting access to cultural participation precisely when spaces for expression, recognition, and collective meaning are most needed. In these contexts, arts-based dialogue plays a vital role in fostering social cohesion, resilience, and recovery.
Responding to this need, UNESCO’s Art-Lab for Human Rights and Dialogue – anchored in the Organisation’s Social and Human Sciences mandate and its Intercultural Dialogue Programme – supports locally grounded, rights-based cultural initiatives that use intercultural dialogue to strengthen social resilience in war and emergency settings.
Within this broader framework, and in cooperation with the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya, UNESCO is implementing the Art-Lab in Ukraine as a context-specific application of a global approach. The initiative supports cultural actors working in conflict-affected environments to use arts as a bridge for dialogue, inclusion, and community recovery, while reinforcing cultural governance mechanisms grounded in human rights and lived realities.
“The UNESCO Art-Lab creates conditions for knowledge exchange and for developing context-sensitive approaches that strengthen social resilience and support recovery — something the Ukrainian society especially needs today.”
Maryna MykhaylenkoChief Operating Officer of the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO
With support from the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), and in partnership with the Lviv Culture Hub, the UNESCO Art-Lab for Human Rights and Dialogue launched the Culture & Human Rights Cohort – bringing together six Ukrainian NGOs selected from a competitive pool of more than 180 applicants nationwide. Members of the new cohort have carried out community-based cultural initiatives in Kharkiv, Poltava region, Kyiv, and Lviv, while participating in a series of programme activities centered on dialogue and exchange. These included in-depth interviews, consultations, and collaborative meetings in which local knowledge and practices related to international human rights frameworks.
The Cohort’s initiatives show how cultural practice becomes a vehicle for healing, visibility, and empowerment across Ukraine. From Nafta Theatre’s (Kharkiv) collaborative stage productions between war veterans and youth to explore first-person narratives and challenges of social reintegration, to Moment of Honor’s (Kyiv) public installation transforming mourning into a shared urban ritual, each project deepens community connection. Nakypilo Radio (Kharkiv) amplifies youth voices from a frontline city, while Foundation 03:00’s (Lviv) participatory exhibition challenges stereotypes and advances cultural rights for people with visual impairments. Meanwhile, Ridnyi Krai – Hadyachchyna (Poltava) and Creative Sich Foundation (Kyiv) are using “family mapping” – an artistic and community-driven exploration of family memory, heritage, and place. The project involves uncovering personal and collective stories, genealogy, songs, embroidery, photographs, oral histories, as well as toponymic research.
These efforts demonstrate how cultural access and community expression sustain dignity and agency even amid conflict. Their work spans diverse contexts, from rural areas to frontline cities, and highlights how cultural actors maintain dialogue, memory, and community identity despite challenges.
Beyond project implementation, participating organisations engaged in interviews, consultations, and peer exchanges with UNESCO on Human Rights-Based Approaches (HRBA), gender mainstreaming, youth engagement, and intercultural dialogue – connecting local knowledge with international human rights standards, including UNESCO’s normative frameworks on cultural rights.
Their initiatives are being documented in a forthcoming publication that will capture project results and offer practical guidance for promoting social engagement through the arts and humanities. This collaborative effort builds on insights from the first phase of Art Lab in Ukraine where a UNESCO-commissioned mapping highlighted that several marginalized groups – including LGBTI+ individuals, rural residents, people experiencing homelessness, and internally displaced persons – remain underrepresented in cultural and humanitarian programmes. In response, Phase II is designed to deepen cooperation among Ukrainian NGOs and advance rights-based cultural governance strategies that position cultural rights as a component of recovery.
UNESCO and Cultural Platform Zakarpattya hosted a hybrid open consultation on 15 December 2025 at the Lviv Culture Hub, gathering civil society, academics, and UNESCO experts to validate findings and shape final recommendations. By convening cultural actors and distilling their experiences into shared principles, the initiative contributes to the development of adaptable dialogue-based cultural governance approaches relevant to conflict and emergency contexts. The forthcoming Guide translates these insights into a practical reference for policymakers, civil society organisations, and cultural practitioners –offering guidance on rights-based, context-sensitive cultural action that can be applied across diverse crisis-affected settings to support social cohesion and community resilience. Further information will be available on the Lviv Culture Hub and Cultural Platform Zakarpattya websites and UNESCO social media.
