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On 15 October 2026, UNESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, convened a workshop in Lviv on theCulture in City Reconstruction and Recovery (CURE) Framework. The event focused on integrating cultural heritage, cultural life and community priorities into recovery planning across Ukraine.
Developed jointly by UNESCO and the World Bank, the CURE Framework provides guidance for incorporating culture into damage and needs assessment, policy development, financing and implementation. It connects the recovery of buildings and public spaces with the needs, values and aspirations of the people who use them. For Ukraine, this approach can help communities maintain their identity, reconnect with one another and participate in shaping their future.
The CURE Framework, developed by UNESCO and the World Bank in 2018, draws on reconstruction experience from post-war Europe to Mostar, Beirut, Timbuktu and Kathmandu. Its core idea is simple: rebuilding places and supporting people go together, and culture is what connects them.
Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, Head of the UNESCO Antenna in Ukraine
The participants explored four interconnected areas of reconstruction: assessing damage and needs, developing policies and strategies, mobilizing financing and implementing recovery interventions. Sessions examined the role of data collection, stakeholder mapping and participatory planning, alongside institutional coordination and approaches to public and private financing.
During the discussions, UNESCO and World Bank experts linked the Framework to practical questions facing Ukrainian institutions. International reconstruction experiences provided further reference points for considering how cultural priorities can be integrated into recovery processes.
Culture must be integrated into all areas of recovery. This means not only rebuilding museums, theatres and monuments, but also taking into account cultural heritage, local identity, creativity and the quality of the built environment when planning schools, hospitals, residential neighbourhoods and public spaces. The CURE approach brings together people, places and decision-making processes, helping to build back better.
Anastasia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine
The workshop gathered around 40 representatives of ministries responsible for culture, territorial development, infrastructure, the economy and social policy, alongside Lviv City Council, Lviv Oblast Administration and the Recovery Support Unit of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. International and technical partners included the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UN Habitat, the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, the City of Tallinn, the DREAM platform and the Kharkiv School of Architecture.
This broad participation provided a setting for examining how cultural priorities can be reflected across recovery policies, investment decisions and local planning.
For the people of Ukraine, heritage is more than buildings. It is where communities gather, work, learn and remember, which is why it can help bring life back to damaged cities. In our experience, this works best when institutions plan together from the start and when plans, solutions, and standards are in place before works begin. It also works best when the restored places return to the people who use them, and when we plan early for the human realities of reconstruction, including the needs of families who have been displaced. A transparent investment pipeline helps ensure that recovery is something communities can trust and take part in.
Tengiz Gogotishvili, Senior Urban Development Specialist of World Bank Group
The workshop builds on UNESCO’s support for the Recovery Support Unit, established within the Ministry of Culture in 2024 to strengthen coordination and support the recovery of the cultural sector. By connecting cultural expertise with wider reconstruction processes, this work seeks to advance a recovery rooted in community identity, inclusive participation and resilience.
The activity was financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and hosted by the Lviv Culture Hub.
