Several thousand artists from Denmark, France, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the USA have so far added their signature to an open letter expressing support for the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian artists. The letter has just been handed over to Ukraine's Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Vladyslavovych Tkachenko, and Koda's global umbrella organisation, CISAC, which initiated the petition, will also send the letter to a number of other ministers of culture in the coming days.
The letter is part of the ‘Creators for Ukraine’ initiative, which also includes a foundation that has so far received 1.2 million euros in donations from, among others, a number of European social rights management societies, including Koda. The donations go towards a range of purposes, such as supporting Ukrainian music creators in various ways.
The letter and the signatures, which have been handed over by CISAC president and ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus, as well as CISAC Director General Gadi Oron, call on Russia to:
’cease its killing of innocent civilians, its destruction of towns and cities, its assault on freedom and democracy, its violation of human rights, and its attack on culture’.
Valeriy Kharchyshyn, who is a songwriter, frontman of the Ukrainian band Друга Ріка – Druga Rika and Director General of the Ukrainian rights management society UACRR, says:
‘The “Creators for Ukraine” initiative […] demonstrates a remarkable power of unity and gives us confidence that we are not alone in our plight. We are part of the international authors' family and when we are together - we are able to find an understanding among the equal and free, and despite the bloody aggression of the northern neighbor, we remain motivated not by destruction but by a thirst for life, a desire to create and change this world for the better.’
The petition remains open, and artists everywhere are encouraged to add their signature to the open letter.
