Museums as Sites of Citizenship: Cooperation between Schools and Museums in Ukraine
This study, developed by Ukrainian historian Dr Tetiana Samsoniuk, examines the extent to which museums and schools are able to work together in wartime Ukraine – and what can be done to strengthen these partnerships.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine transformed the operational reality of educational and cultural institutions across the country. Schools and museums are forced to address critical security challenges, deliver psychosocial support, and invent new modes of community engagement.
Amid these conditions, museums are shifting from traditional heritage preservation spaces into active environments for social dialogue, community support, and civic competence development. However, collaboration between schools and cultural institutions remains largely unsystematic, relying on personal relationships or temporary grantfunding.
This report provides an empirical analysis of cross-sectoral cooperation between schools, museums, libraries, and civil society in Ukraine.
It is carried out within the MUCIT: Museums as Sites of Citizenship project (2024-2026) implemented by The European Wergeland Centre (Norway) in partnership with Maidan Museum of the Revolution of Dignity (Ukraine), Polin – Museum of History of Polish Jews (Poland) and Utøya (Norway).
The project is supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe programme.