Ukraine Close to Our Hearts on International Museum Day

  • May 19, 2022
Metal railing at base of tree trunk, with hand-painted wooden stars hanging from it
Photos: Jin S. Lee
The Survivor Tree is illuminated in blue and yellow light, against the nighttime sky

We were proud to host a special ceremony in honor of International Museum Day, highlighting the role that institutions like ours can play in cultural exchange. Diplomats, visitors, and community members joined Museum staff last night at the Survivor Tree, which was illuminated in blue and yellow in solidarity with our museum colleagues and the people of Ukraine. 

Wooden Stars of Hope - hand-painted by our staff and bearing messages of support - were hung along the Survivor Tree railing as well. Meaningfully decorated with sunflowers, peace signs, hearts, Ukrainian phrases, and blue and yellow stripes, the stars will be donated to a non-profit recommended by Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya, who was in attendance at the ceremony. 

A group of nine people - four women and five men - pose on the plaza

Alice Greenwald, President and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum (center, in red) on the plaza with, from left to right, Nathalie Broadhurst (French ambassador to the UN); Andrejs Pildegovics (Latvian ambassador to the UN); Sergiy Kyslytsya (Ukrainian ambassador to the UN); Mantas Adomenas (Vice Minister, Lithuania); Linda Thomas-Greenfield (US ambassador to the UN); James Roscoe (UK ambassador to the UN); Cait Moran (Irish ambassador to the UN); and Rytis Paulauskas (Lithuanian ambassador to the UN). 

  • Diplomats, one in a dark jacket and khaki pants and one in a dark suit, crouch at the base of the Survivor Tree, where hand-painted wooden stars hang
  • Two men in dark suits pose for a selfie with a woman in a red jacket
  • Hand-painted wooden stars hung from the railing of the Survivor Tree
  • A blonde woman stands at the base of the Survivor Tree looking at tributes
  • Two workers arrange lightbulbs and wires on the plaza
A woman in a red jacket and dark pants speaks to a group of diplomats in dark clothes

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

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