The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, summarized the important stage of the implementation of the project on the introduction of Ukrainian-language audio guides: already 50 important cultural and historical monuments in 32 countries speak Ukrainian.
So, four audio tours were launched recently in Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and Norway.
In Azerbaijan, a Ukrainian-speaking audio guide worked in the historical and artistic reserve "Gobustan", which is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. More than 6,000 rock paintings have been found in this unique place, and it is considered one of the first places on the planet where art was born. The voice of this audio guide was Ukrainian singer Oleksiy Sagalovsky. By the way, this is already the second Ukrainian-language audio guide in the country. The first one started working two years ago in the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.
In Slovakia, the largest Gothic church in Bratislava - St. Martin's Church, which is included in the list of national monuments of the country and is one of its most important spiritual centers, spoke Ukrainian. An almost hour-long tour of the church was prepared in Ukrainian by Ivan Yatskanyn, head of the Union of Ukrainian Writers of Slovakia.
Two more Ukrainian-speaking guides were launched in Oslo, the capital of Norway. The first appeared on the Oslo Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. It was presented on a special excursion. It was attended by Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homeland due to the full-scale aggression of Russia. Ukrainian was also heard in the Fram Museum, which is one of the most visited museum institutions in Norway. Its exposition is devoted to the history of Norwegian polar expeditions.
"It is extremely valuable when you come to a world-class museum and see that your native language is on the list of those in which you can listen to the tour. It's not only about convenience - it's also about the feeling of "I'm welcome here". About respect, recognition, solidarity. Especially now, when Russia is trying to destroy the Ukrainian language and culture together with their carriers - books, museums, people. This is one of the reasons why we are working on the introduction of Ukrainian audio guides in the most significant cultural monuments: because we want our language to be heard throughout the world," Olena Zelenska emphasized. The first lady assured that the project will be actively implemented in the future.
Implementation of the project to create audio guides in the Ukrainian language in the cultural monuments of the world at the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine was started in 2020. This is a joint project of the wife of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is implemented thanks to cooperation with embassies and consulates of Ukraine in the world.
Within the framework of the project, Ukrainian-language audio guides are already functioning in the Coliseum (Italy), Versailles (France), the Albertine Gallery and Schönbrunn Palace (Austria), Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkey), the Tower of London, Charlottenburg Palace (Berlin), the Vasa Museum (Sweden), etc.
