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13 September 2007 13:11

Ukraine 3000 Fund’s Publications Dedicated to Holodomor Presented at the Book Publishers’ Forum in Lviv

September 13, 2007, representatives of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Fund took part in the Book Publishers’ Forum in Lviv. Today books dedicated to the Manmade Famine of 1932-1933, published with the support of Ukraine 3000 Fund, were presented as part of the Forum’s agenda.

Among the participants of the event, taking place at the Potosky Palace, were Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Fund Kateryna Yushchenko, PhD. in History and Professor with the Kyiv National University Valentyna Borysenko, PhD. in History, Professor and Department Head with the Institute of History of Ukraine at the NASU Ruslan Pyrih, Department Head of the SSU State Archive Vasyl Danylenko, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute Oleksandr Ivankiv, Director of the Culture Programs Department at the Ukraine 3000 Fund Oleksiy Kopytko, Expert with the Culture Programs Department at the Ukraine 3000 Fund Olesia Stasiuk, representatives of the local authorities, participants and guests of the Book Publishers’ Forum.

Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko and Ukraine 3000 Fund members presented to the public the five books published in 2006-2007: The Candle of Memory: Oral History of the Ukrainian Genocide by Valentyna Borysenko, The Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest (Ukrainian translation), Manmade Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933: Selected Articles compiled by Nadia Diuk, The Declassified Memory: The Manmade Famine of 1932-1933 through GPU-NKVD Documents compiled by Valentyna Borysenko, and Manmade Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine: Documents and Materials compiled by Ruslan Pyrih.

Addressing the audience, Mrs. Yushchenko mentioned the importance of telling the Ukrainian people and the world community the truth about that horrible period. She said that over 10,000 publications dedicated to this tragedy had come of the press after the Holodomor. However, most of them deal only with local developments, lacking a general view on this crime. Thus, the Fund resolved to reprint key works on the Manmade Famine history and publish a series of new researches that would help to see the famine from a countrywide point of view.

“I am sure these books will be of interest for many our fellow countrymen. They can help better understand the past of single families, villages, towns, and the country as a whole,” Mrs. Kateryna said, adding that these sets of books should be in every Ukraine’s library.

In their turn, book authors and compilers taking part in the presentation spoke about the history of their creation and their unique features.

Answering the questions, Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko said that a diplomatic rout would be held soon, dedicated to the Manmade Famine, for representatives of all diplomatic missions in Ukraine. She also recalled that the Destroyed by the Famine: the Unknown Genocide of the Ukrainians exhibition, initiated by the Ukraine 3000 Fund, is now on a tour of many countries.

After the presentation its participants visited the Book Fair opened that day at the Lviv Arts Palace. Accompanied by the Palace Director Roman Nokonechny, Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko and Ukraine 3000 Fund members took a tour of the fair and talked to the book publishers and authors. Mrs. Kateryna has bought a number of novelties and children’s books for her personal library.

The Book Publishers’ Forum has been held in Lviv since 1994. It is a unique system of exhibitions and fairs, culture- and art-related events, aimed primarily on forming a civilized book market in Ukraine and raising the prestige of the Ukrainian book in the community.

Book publishing and book trading companies from all Ukraine’s oblasts are presented at the Forum. In this connection, a decision of the Exhibitions Council at the Cabinet of Ministers of April 24, 2003, the Lviv Book Publishers’ Forum was awarded a national status.

This year representatives of around 600 book publishers, libraries, periodicals, state and civil organizations, along with renowned culture figures, take part in the Forum. The Forum agenda lists 286 events. Among them are:

• Sixth Knyhomaniya [Book Mania] Children’s Reading Festival starting September 12;
• Second International Literature Festival featuring Polish literature star Katarzina Groholja (official opening September 14);
• The Book of the Forum 2007 book competition. The award ceremony scheduled for September 13;
• Culture against Vandalism discussion with the participation of Ukrainian intellectuals, culture figures, representatives of the authorities, mass media, and business (September 13);
• The Ukrainian Book Publishing: Situation, Problems, and Prospect business forum with the participation of the heads of renowned Ukrainian publishing houses and state representatives.

Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko and members of the Ukraine 3000 Fund are staying in Lviv for a one-day working trip. They have already been to the Ukrainian Catholic University and are to visit the Lviv City Communal Children’s Hospital.