Cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Ukraine and Norway is an important component of relations between the two countries.
Priority areas in cultural cooperation include organization of Ukrainian cultural events in Norway, ensuring the participation of Ukrainian representatives in exhibitions, concerts and festivals organized in Norway, establishing and developing connections between educational institutions of the two countries, holding events marking important historical dates, organization of events aimed at meeting cultural needs of the Ukrainian community in Norway, etc. Thus, in 2018 the soloists of the Kyiv National Operetta Theatre Halyna Gregorchak-Odrynska and Volodymyr Odrynsky performed the best pieces of the Ukrainian song heritage during the solemn reception on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Independence of Ukraine in Norway. In 2019 the Ukrainian band “FIOLET” performed for the first time in Oslo and Trondheim.
There are also regular screenings of Ukrainian movies organized in Norway, in particular, the premier screenings of the Ukrainian feature films "Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die" and "Black Raven"; special pre-premiere screening of "Mr. Jones" at the Movies on War Film Festival; screening of the film "Stranger" at the Ravenheart International Film Festival took place during 2018-2020 in Norway.
In 2019 Minister of Culture of Ukraine Yevhen Nyschuk met with Minister of Culture of Norway Trine Skei Grande during his working trip to Norway as part of the Ukrainian government delegation. During the meeting, the main spheres of possible cultural cooperation between the two countries were discussed. The creative industries that are rapidly developing in Ukraine were named as one of the promising areas for cooperation.
Ukrainian-Norwegian cooperation in literary sphere continues to develop. In late 2018 the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Norway organized an evening of cultural diplomacy attended by famous Ukrainian translator, member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, Ms Natalia Ivanychuk on the occasion of her receiving the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for the translation activity and significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian-Norwegian cultural relations.
In 2019-2020, the Embassy implemented a project on creating "Ukrainian shelves" in Norwegian public libraries – a selection of works by Ukrainian classics and contemporary authors – Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, Yuri Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, Serhiy Zhadan, Lina Kostenko, Andriy Kurkov, Maria Matios, Vasyl Shklyar and others. Also, "Ukrainian shelves" include a number of books by Ukrainian and foreign authors in English on the history and modern development of Ukraine, a selection of publications on contemporary Ukrainian culture, children's books, a number of photo albums, travel guides and other publications.
Several humanitarian organizations have been for many years working in Ukraine to provide humanitarian assistance. Various humanitarian assistance is rendered in Ukraine by Barn fra Ukraina, Tro Håp og Kjærlighet Stiftelsen, the Red Cross.
In 2019 the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC, non-governmental humanitarian organization based in Oslo) has expanded its project activities in the Donetsk region. In order to coordinate the implementation of new projects in the Donetsk region, new field offices were opened in Kramatorsk and Kurakhove. NRC started its activities in Ukraine in late 2014, striving to help solve the problems of internally displaced persons and other citizens affected by Russia's aggression against Ukraine. NRC projects in Ukraine are implemented with the financial support of the governments of Norway, the United States, Sweden, the European Union (ECHO and EIDHR), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In October 2019, the Norwegian Government decided to allocate 36.7 million Norwegian kroner (approximately 4 million USD) to finance a three-year project of cooperation between Ukraine and Norway in the public health sector. The project includes three main areas of interaction: physical rehabilitation, psychological rehabilitation and supporting the structural reforms in the public health sector of Ukraine. The project will also focus on the needs of physical and psychological rehabilitation of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The project plans to pay special attention to supporting the establishment of modern rehabilitation centers in Ukraine. On the Norwegian side, the project will be coordinated by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Social Services and will include institutions such as Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Akershus University Hospital, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and others.