On 20 May 2026, the Ukrainian Institute presented analytical studies of the cultural environments and local contexts of Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil at Sens bookstore. The event brought together around 100 participants, including representatives of diplomatic institutions, the cultural sector, the expert community, civil society organizations, universities and the media.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by H.E. Elena Leticia Mikusinski, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina to Ukraine.
This was followed by Polina Fedorenko, analyst at the Analytics, Research and Academic Programmes Department of the Ukrainian Institute, who presented the methodology of the research series and outlined the approaches that informed the studies.
The studies were conducted in 2024–2026 by the Ukrainian Institute with the involvement of experts from the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” and international partners. Their aim is to deepen understanding of the cultural environments of Latin American countries and to create an analytical foundation for Ukraine’s long-term cultural diplomacy in the region — one that is attentive to local contexts.
Three studies were presented during the event:
Argentina — author: Ivan Fechko; interviewers: Ivan Fechko, Yehor Valiarenko, Veronika Skorobohatko;
Brazil — author: Veronika Skorobohatko;
Mexico — authors: Anabel Sotelo Ramires and Tamara Ibarra.
The designer and layout editor of the entire research series was Olha Puhina.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion on Ukraine’s cultural presence in Latin America, the challenges of working in the region and opportunities for future partnerships. The discussion featured Oksana Dramaretska, Director of the Latin America and the Caribbean Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Mexico in 2020–2025; writer Yurii Andrukhovych and Alina Rohach, Project Manager of the Programme for Cooperation with Spain and Latin American Countries at the Centre for Transatlantic Dialogue. The discussion was moderated by Alim Aliev, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Institute.
The event became a space for discussing how Ukraine can build sustainable cultural ties with Latin American countries not through universal assumptions, but through attentive research into local environments, professional networks, historical experiences, and current social processes. The presented studies help to better understand with whom, for whom, and in what formats Ukraine can work in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil, as well as which topics, partners, and approaches may be most relevant for further cultural cooperation.
The Ukrainian Institute thanks its partners for supporting the implementation of the studies and the event: the International Renaissance Foundation, American Councils, EUNIC — European Union National Institutes for Culture, the NGO Cultural Diplomacy Foundation, and Sens bookstore.
The research papers can be found here
Source: Ukrainian Institute
