First Ukrainian Library Opens in the Croatian Capital
The Ukrainian community in Zagreb has announced the establishment of the first Ukrainian library in the Croatian capital at the Ukrainian House. The organizers shared this news on their social media page.
"We are opening a new chapter in the life of the Ukrainian House in Zagreb - we are launching our library! Today, we received a priceless package of Ukrainian and foreign language books for children and adults. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the State Committee for Television and Radio-Broadcasting of Ukraine, headed by Mr. Oleh Nalyvaiko, and Ukrainian Member of Parliament Ms. Mariia Ionova for their assistance," the announcement stated.
Last year, Ukrainian books were also received by the largest scientific library in Croatia as part of the "Ukrainian Bookshelf" initiative under the patronage of Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska. The project has been implemented in libraries across 39 countries, with a total of 170 bookshelves containing 44,000 Ukrainian books.
"I hope that the number of bookshelves will continue to grow, and more leading libraries around the world will join us," Olena Zelenska noted.
The "Ukrainian Bookshelf" project was planned before the start of the Russian aggression and aims to promote Ukrainian literature in its original language and translations in leading libraries worldwide.
As part of the "Books Without Borders" project for Ukrainian children living abroad due to the war, 100,000 books, including fairy tales, stories, adventures, and coloring books, have been printed to date.
This initiative has already reached 14 countries. Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Moldova, and Turkey have participated in printing and distributing books to children.
This initiative is carried out under the patronage of Ukraine's First Lady, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy emphasized that the largest number of book copies can be found in Poland (over 47,600 books), Lithuania (15,500 copies), and the United Kingdom (15,000 copies).