Ukraine will participate in the 2025 Bologna Children's Book Fair, which will take place from March 31 to April 3, 2025, in Bologna, Italy.
This leading industry event gathers a unique and diverse global audience and has become a center for the exchange of author’s rights in the publishing sector, extending to modern multimedia and licensing businesses related to children's stories, illustrations, animation, and adjacent fields.
The 62nd Bologna Children's Book Fair will be held at the BolognaFiere exhibition center, bringing together around 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries.
The Ukrainian stand at the fair is organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute and will showcase the latest works by Ukrainian authors and illustrators from domestic publishers.
As part of the event’s programme, the Ukrainian Book Institute will hold two events in collaboration with foreign partners, featuring both Ukrainian and international speakers:
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March 31, 17:15–18:00 — “Tales of EUkraine: Everyone Deserves Their Own Story.” This project provides bilingual books to Ukrainian children who have been forced to leave their homes. These books not only allow children to read their own stories but also help them understand how those stories sound in the language of their new country. One of the authors featured is Victoria Amelina, whose children’s book “The Stories of Eky the Excavator” encourages children to share their own wonderful and everyday tales.
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April 2, 09:30–10:20 — “EURead. Children in the World of Disinformation: How Reading Shapes Critical Thinking.” Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to fake news, manipulation, and disinformation, as they engage with digital content from an early age. Participants will discuss the role of reading in developing critical thinking and information literacy, share successful practices, and explore how literature teaches children to analyze information and make informed choices.
The “Ukraine: Yesterday and Today” exhibition, presented by the International Festival “Book Arsenal” with the support of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and curated by the Pictoric Illustrator’s Club, will showcase works by contemporary Ukrainian illustrators alongside legendary 20th-century artists. This exhibit will highlight the resilience and uniqueness of Ukrainian visual storytelling, illustrating connections and contrasts between the past and present.
The 20th-century section will feature iconic illustrators whose works shaped the imagination of entire generations, including Nina Denysova, Halyna Halynska, Volodymyr Holozubov, Mykola Storozhenko, and others. Meanwhile, the contemporary illustration section will present leading Ukrainian illustrators such as Anna Sarvira, Yulia Tveritina, Roman Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, Anna Ivanenko, and Zhenya Polosina.
Ukraine is grateful to the organizers of the fair for the opportunity to participate in this important event.
Partners: Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Embassy of Ukraine in Italy.
