Ukrainian cultural institutions need our help to preserve their collections at risk due to the war. Donate your spare equipment to support the digitisation efforts of Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions.

Laptops for Ukraine is an initiative by the European Commission, the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and Digital Europe, a European organisation representing the digital technology industry. It aims to collect and deliver laptops, smartphones and other equipment for schools, hospitals and public administrations in Ukraine’s most affected war regions.

In June 2023 the Laptops for Ukraine initiative was extended to help cultural heritage institutions in Ukraine to digitally document, scan and photograph documents and objects at risk of being lost due to the war. The Europeana Foundation applauds this initiative and is proud to support it. We call on our large pan-European network of cultural heritage institutions to donate and take their part in preserving Ukraine’s cultural heritage through digitalisation.

Cultural heritage and cultural heritage institutions in Ukraine have been severely impacted by war. Over 300,000 museum objects have been evacuated and relocated. Over 1 million objects of the State Museum Fund are considered to be in occupied territories. 12 million museum objects of the State Museum Fund of Ukraine are currently recorded and kept in paper form only, and only 10% out of 2500 museums in the country are equipped with computers.

There is a pressing need for equipment, such as laptops, scanners, cameras and data storage devices to scan and digitally document Ukraine’s cultural heritage. The aim is to be able to trace destroyed, lost and stolen cultural heritage objects, to restore and bring them back to life, preserve and make them available online to everybody.

Devices needed include laptops, scanners, cameras, storage devices and servers.

Cultural heritage organisations such as libraries and museums interested in donating equipment to their Ukranian counterparts are invited to contact the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), unit responsible for digital cultural heritage via email.

Let’s preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

Let’s collect #LaptopsforUkraine.