Ukraine-focused decolonisation guide launched for museum professionals

A new museum guide focused on Ukraine is being released today through an international partnership project initiated by the Ukrainian Institute in collaboration with Icom UK, Icom Ukraine (the United Kingdom and Ukraine national committees of the International Council of Museums) and the Museums Association, with support from the British Council.

The English version of the guide is now available to download for free, and a Ukrainian translation will be issued shortly.

The purpose of the guide is to support museum and cultural heritage professionals globally to include Ukraine in their decolonisation practice. It is written for those who may have limited knowledge about Ukraine but who champion diversity and inclusivity.

As well as offering new perspectives on the rich cultural heritage of this major European country, reliable information equips readers with the confidence to challenge harmful colonial narratives, negative stereotyping, misrepresentation and mislabelling of Ukraine and its cultural heritage. 

Although parts of modern-day Ukraine were claimed by different states at different times, the guide focuses on the impact of the Russian empire and the USSR. This is because Russia’s colonial narratives are not widely understood.

By acknowledging the complex and often difficult processes involved in unlearning and relearning the past, the guide aims to position Ukraine in solidarity with a global network of decolonisation struggles.

The guide has been developed by experts and practitioners from Ukraine and internationally to bring together a range of perspectives and to represent a “snapshot in time” on this decolonisation journey.

Case studies and examples of good practice have been drawn from a variety of fields – including academia, archives, galleries and libraries as well as museums – to show how learning can be shared across different types of memory institution.

The project partners hope that the publication will also be relevant to other global contexts and different colonial settings, and will inspire the development of more guides to explain the rich and diverse cultural heritage of other peoples and nations.

The guide was informed by the Museums Association's Decolonising principles. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, said: “I hope this guide will support colleagues to better understand the history of Ukraine and the Russian empire and to explore objects in collections outside of Ukraine in a new light.

“The decolonisation process can help us to research new narratives and add to our knowledge of the past as well our understanding of the present, which is vital if we are to help shape a just and peaceful future for all.”

An online presentation of the guide will take place on 21 July 2025 at 1300 BST (15:00 EET) via Teams. Register here to participate in the discussion of the publication with the authors and contributors.

• Read the full announcement here