President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the final stage of selection for the national Tysiachovesna initiative, which is taking place in Ivano-Frankivsk, and spoke with participants, experts, and partners.
The Head of State emphasized that the implementation of the Tysiachovesna initiative, designed to foster the creation of new, high-quality Ukrainian cultural products, is a great result and a success for Ukraine. According to the President, out of more than 3,000 creative applications, 1,227 projects made it to the final and are already bringing people and teams together.
“This is certainly not only about entertainment. It is also about the economic effect, about keeping the industry consistently active, about work that, in turn, drives the development of the entire sector and the growth of individual creators and large creative teams, the development of cultural management and the industry’s infrastructure, and, importantly, high-quality arts education and a new generation of creative young people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President had an opportunity to visit each creative venue where the finalists discuss and defend their work before an independent jury that includes international experts. The categories include performing arts, feature and documentary films, animated films, series, and contemporary music.
“I am confident in the success of this idea. At least on our part, we will do everything to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, so that this is what it truly looks like – not only from the outside – genuine and creative, and so that this idea gives rise to a lot of diverse, talented content,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
During his conversation with authors, directors, producers, musicians, cultural managers, and representatives of arts institutions, Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the prospects for the initiative’s long-term work.
“The program will continue. We will see, talk with the experts, hear their conclusions about which platform, which area, which theme works better. That is where more funding and a larger share should go. As for which area does not work, or does not work the way the initiators of Tysiachovesna and the experts themselves expected, I think we will see the answer in real time. Where there are no results, things will change. Where there are results, we will need to provide even more support,” the Head of State added.
The discussion also covered the need for education and training opportunities for young people. This year, more than 20% of Tysiachovesna participants are first-time creators. To involve even more of them, the project is expected to expand next year with two additional categories: video games and books. The President assured that state funding and support would not decrease.
“For next year, judging by the number of applications, we understand that we should plan to increase this funding. We can see that now. We needed the first step, the launch, to understand the scale,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The return of Ukrainian artists from abroad was also discussed separately. The President noted that it is important to create conditions in which the state will only support creative ideas and not interfere with their implementation, will reduce bureaucracy, and will not claim copyrights.
The Head of State emphasized that we must show the whole world who we are, who Ukrainians are, and that under difficult circumstances we are fighting, but we are also living. Increasing the number of Ukrainian projects on international platforms will only strengthen Ukraine, because this is not only about promoting our country, but also about countering Russian propaganda.
Attention was also given to patronage so that the Tysiachovesna initiative can receive additional financial support. According to the President, an appropriate draft law needs to be developed. The Head of State noted that the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister of Finance should address this issue, including with the International Monetary Fund.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with 10-year-old Varvara Kvochok, who interviews well-known athletes, actors, singers, and politicians for her social media. The President shared his impressions of Tysiachovesna and spoke about the importance of creating animation based on the right values.
