II Forum “Decolonizing Mindsets for Security in Europe” Calls for Urgent Cultural Reframing to Strengthen Democracy

Opening remarks were delivered by H.E. Asta Radikaitė, Ambassador of Lithuania to the Kingdom of Denmark, and H.E. Andrii Yanevskyi, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark. They both underlined the role of decolonization of memory and culture as essential pillars of European resilience against hybrid threats.

Following the welcoming addresses, Rasa Juknevičienė, Member of the European Parliament, offered a keynote speech framed around her initiative—the European Parliament Resolution on Russia’s Disinformation and Historical Falsification to Justify Its War of Aggression Against Ukraine. She emphasized that “this war is a continuation of Russia’s long standing colonial imperialistic policy” and underscored the importance of naming ideology as a root cause. Quoting directly from the resolution, she added: “The Russian regime denies Ukraine’s distinct national identity, falsely claiming it as part of the Russian world—a narrative rooted in imperialist ideology.” Juknevičienė noted this was the first time such language had been included in an official EU document, marking a pivotal shift in acknowledging the ideological underpinnings of Russian aggression​.

The Forum’s first panel, "Uprooting the Colonial Gaze Within Your Cultural Optics", moderated by Søren la Cour Jensen (Chair of Blue Shield Denmark), featured rich interventions by experts.

Tetyana Filevska, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute, presented the newly developed Decolonization Guide for Museums. This comprehensive tool assists institutions in identifying and properly representing Ukrainian heritage within their collections. Filevska outlined five practical steps for decolonizing collections:

1. Learn about Ukraine and commit to change – cultivating the motivation to act.

2. Go through your collection and identify what needs attention – challenging misattributions to Russian or other cultures.

3. Change language and terminology – ensuring respectful and accurate descriptions.

4. Investigate provenance – the most complex but crucial step in restoring correct attribution.

5. Communicate with your audience – explaining why these changes matter for broader understanding​.

She stressed that too often, museums misattribute Ukrainian cultural artifacts as Russian, reflecting entrenched colonial optics that must be challenged systemically. She also emphasised the importance of not divorcing culture from politics, and paying attention to the cultural dimension of Russian colonialism from a security perspective: “[In Ukraine] the [Russian] culture came before tanks”. Ms Filevska later added: the work on decolonising mindsets is a part of a general fight for truth at the moment. If the European views on Russia were decolonised and closer to the truth prior to the full-scale invasion, perhaps the armed support to Ukraine would have been more timely.

Frederik Rosén, Director of the Nordic Center for Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict, expanded on how culture becomes a dimension of full-scale war. He reminded the audience of Ukrainian cultural heritage destruction as a dimension of Russia’s war. Mr Rosen also highlighted that in the current context "cultural policy is no longer neutral terrain" and can serve as both a battlefield and a shield in geopolitical conflicts. He also stressed the urgency for the European NATO members to form a clearer vision of culture as part of their security policies. This is since he presented plentiful evidence of heightened attention to culture as a critical dimension in Russian national security since the 2000s. 

Dr. Julie Sissia from the Académie des Traces shared case studies from Western European museums and collaborations between France and Germany, showing how colonial-era collections require deep reconsideration, especially in the ways narratives of ownership and origin are constructed and presented.

The second panel, “Making Space for the Voices of the Formerly Colonized in Cultural Institutions,” moderated by Henriette Borg Reinholdt (Danish Cultural Institute), focused on the structural changes needed to ensure that cultural institutions and universities integrate formerly marginalized narratives. The obstacles such institutions face in this process were also discussed in detail.

Kateryna Botanova, cultural critic and curator, spoke about ways in which Western cultural institutions often reinforce hierarchies by upholding colonial narratives. She explained that true decolonization is not merely about inviting diverse voices into existing structures but is tied to changing the very systems that historically excluded those voices, and creating forms of positive discrimination. Ms Botanova emphasized that Russian cultural dominance operates through maintaining inequality — calling itself “great Russian culture”, thus elevating one culture and systematically diminishing others. Furthermore, she spoke about the examples of “opposition” Russian culture makers capitalising on the pain endured by the Ukrainian nation in the context of epistemic violence, as they are exploiting the Western institution’s tendencies to use their voices, instead of the lesser known voices of the Ukrainians, in discussing Russian Ukrainian war. She called on Western cultural institutions to rethink their foundational frameworks to address these embedded imbalances within their teachings and presentations. Ms Botanova also called on the cultural institutions to reflect on their openness to new and lesser known voices and take more risks in that regard by making real space for the voices of the formerly colonised by conducting translation schools and courses, translating new authors, and bringing more guest speakers to the existing courses.

Annika Hvithamar, Head of the Institute of Regional and Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen, addressed how academic environments also perpetuate colonial hierarchies, often unconsciously. She reflected on the underfunding of the language and regional studies departments as a major barrier to including the voices of the colonised, as well as the lack of trained translators for books and publications from the languages of the colonised. Ms Hvithamar also underlined the way Ukrainian studies have historically been treated within European academia, frequently framed as a subset of Russian studies. She explained that such academic structuring itself carries a colonial legacy that urgently needs to be dismantled and provided examples of how currently the scholars in her department are working with this challenge. She argued that true academic decolonization involves recognizing Ukraine—and similarly marginalized cultures—as independent historical and cultural actors in their own right. Furthermore, an issue lies in the colonial legacy of European institutions themselves: recognising Russian colonial influences is able to trigger uncomfortable discussions domestically.

The discussion highlighted that genuine decolonization in education and culture is not about superficial diversity initiatives. It requires deep structural changes: reassessing who tells the stories, whose perspectives are prioritized, and how institutions are organized to reflect a truly inclusive, equitable vision of culture and history. Moreover, in discussions with the audience, practical suggestions on starting with those changes were made, including educational trips of young Western academics and cultural professionals to countries of the formerly colonised to raise scholarly and cultural interest.

The II "Decolonizing Mindsets for Security in Europe" Forum was organised by Ukraine House in Denmark in collaboration with: Ukrainian Institute, Danish Cultural Institute, Nordic Center for Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict, Institut français du Danemark, University of Copenhagen, Open Society Foundation, Politiken Foundation, Blue Shield Denmark, and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Denmark. We thank our partners for their commitment and support. 

As the forum made clear, cultural decolonization is no longer optional—it is central to building a more resilient, democratic Europe. Ukraine House in Denmark remains committed to advancing this dialogue through inclusive platforms and partnerships across the continent.