First Lady Zelenska: Ukrainian language, culture important for those valuing freedom

That’s according to the press service of the Presidential Office, Ukrinform reports.

"While the empire seeks to destroy not only Ukraine, but also Ukrainian culture, we are doing our best to spread this culture. This is yet another form of our resistance – a cultural, value-based one. Through the books and scholarly works, not just through the news, the world will learn how much Ukraine has given it and understand us better. As its integral part, without which, like without others, the world is unthinkable," Olena Zelenska summarized.

In 2023, a total of 20 Ukrainian-language audio guides were launched in 15 countries, including:

The Netherlands – the Maurits Cornelis Escher Museum in the Lange Voorhout Palace, the museum of collector and patron Abraham Bredius and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; Albania – the National Museum of Medieval Art; Ireland – the Library of Trinity College; Denmark – the Hop On Hop Off bus and boat tour of Copenhagen; Poland – the Warsaw Rising Museum and the House of Nicolaus Copernicus at the District Museum in Toruń; Italy – the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Royal Museums of Turin; Sweden – the Nordic Museum – Museum of Ethnography and Culture and the Viking Museum in Stockholm; Finland – the Suomenlinna Fortress Island and the Helsinki Historic Center boat tour; Israel – the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center; Australia – the National Museum of Australia; Azerbaijan – the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art; Cyprus – the Archaeological Museum; the United States – the Illinois Holocaust Museum; Austria – the Imperial Treasury; and Greece – the Benaki Museum in Athens.

Since its inception in 2021, the project to introduce Ukrainian-language audio guides, initiated by Olena Zelenska, has launched 77 audio tours in Ukrainian across 43 countries: Türkiye, France, Denmark, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Uzbekistan, Austria, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Rwanda, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece, North Macedonia, Spain, the United States, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Montenegro, Italy, Lithuania, Georgia, Portugal, Thailand, Hungary, Switzerland, Brazil, Slovakia, Norway, Qatar, Estonia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Albania, Ireland, Poland, Israel, Finland, Australia, and Cyprus.

In addition, as part of the project, in cooperation with the Petra Development Tourism Regional Authority of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ukrainian-language brochures are offered to visitors at the Kingdom's most famous historical site, Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage site declared one of the seven world wonders.

"Many thanks to our embassies and all foreign partners. This is necessary not only for the millions of Ukrainian displaced persons driven out of the country by the Russian war, but also for everyone who values freedom and a free culture. Ukrainian today is the language of resistance to aggression and the fight for identity, for life and the right to exist," Zelenska emphasized.

First Lady's Ukrainian Bookshelf project also expanded significantly in 2023 as Ukrainian bookshelves were launched in 10 countries: Spain, Armenia, the United Kingdom, Serbia, the United States, Romania, Singapore, Denmark, Mexico, Argentina, and for the first time, at the headquarters of UNESCO.

In the last month alone, bookshelves have been opened in the Ricardo Güiraldes Central Library of Buenos Aires in Argentina and in three towns in Denmark: Ikast, Gentofte, and Skive.

As of the end of 2023, the Ukrainian Bookshelf project under the patronage of the First Lady of Ukraine has been implemented in 45 countries and at one international organization (more than 190 shelves, more than 47,000 books): Austria, Türkiye, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Latvia, Finland, Jordan, Croatia, Lebanon, Japan, Belgium, Albania, Republic of Korea, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Norway, Moldova, Qatar, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Portugal, South Africa, Cyprus, UAE, Namibia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Indonesia, Armenia, United Kingdom, Serbia, USA, Romania, Singapore, Mexico, Denmark, Argentina, and UNESCO Headquarters.