Ambassador of Ukraine Olga Dibrova visited Tikkurila's library today with the mayor of Vantaa, Pekka Timonen
Ambassador of Ukraine Olga Dibrova visited Tikkurila's library today with Mayor Pekka Timonen and Deputy Mayor Riikka Åstrand. The event celebrated the donation of Ukrainian books to the capital region's library network.
The donation is part of the Ukrainian Bookshelf project, initiated by Olena Zelenska, spouse of the President of Ukraine, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Book Institute, and Ukrainian embassies. The goal of the initiative is to distribute Ukrainian literature in original and translated versions to libraries around the world.
- We in Vantaa have been working in deep collaboration with the embassy for a long time. We are very honoured to have these book donations from the first lady Zelenska and the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Ukraine, says Mayor Pekka Timonen.
With the help of the project, more than 200 shelves with an offer of more than 50,000 volumes have already been set up in libraries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America, sharing information about Ukraine and offering Ukrainian-speaking residents reading opportunities. Tikkurila's Ukrainian bookshelf will offer especially Ukrainian children's books to read.
-I want to thank the librarians for paying attention to Ukraine. I have just seen the collection of books in Ukrainian and on Ukraine that you already have for adults and it’s truly impressive and really needed. Especially books for children is important, says Ambassador of Ukraine Olga Dibrova.
From 2022 the libraries in Vantaa have started to acquire materials in the Ukrainian language. At the moment there are more than 400 books in Ukrainian in the libraries in the City of Vantaa and they are mainly children’s books. The largest collection is in Tikkurila library but there are materials in Ukrainian in almost all libraries in Vantaa. Everyone with a library card can reserve books through the Helmet library system from other libraries to a library near you.
- It is important to offer books in different languages in order to keep your own language and maintain your identity and culture. There is a strong need for Ukrainians living in Vantaa to be able to read and listen to materials from Ukraine. Within the Finnish population there is a growing interest in learning more about Ukraine and the culture of Ukraine, says Mayor Pekka Timonen.
Welcome to the bookshelf!