News & Events in Belarus

VITEBSK, 1 September (BelTA) – The celebrations marking the Belarusian Written Language Day get underway in Polotsk on 1 September, BelTA learned from the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

The Belarusian Written Language Day in Polotsk embraces three holidays: the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian book printing, the city’s 1155th anniversary, and the Belarusian Written Language Day itself. The three-day celebrations start on 1 September with a solemn school assembly entitled “We Carry Skaryna’s Proud Name” with the participation of local authorities, teachers, and school students. Other events of 1 September are also dedicated to the youth and the first Belarusian book printer. Best experts in Skaryna’s life and legacy are going to test their knowledge in Skaryna’s Olympiad. Amateurs of historical reenactment will go on a tour of an old-time school in the afternoon and attend the festival of medieval culture Rubon in the evening of 1 September. Book and theater lovers are going to plunge into a whirl of activity dedicated to Skaryna: the projects From the Depth of Centuries, Descendants of the Great Skaryna, In the Beginning Was the Word, We are Skaryna’s Descendants. They will take place in the schools and cultural institutions of Polotsk over the course of the first day of autumn.

The solemn opening ceremony of the Belarusian Written Language Day is due to take place on 2 September. Polotsk is going to host a procession dedicated to the city’s 1155th anniversary in the run-up to the solemn opening of the City Day, an international roundtable discussion of Belarusian and foreign writers The Diplomacy of the Word: Francysk Skaryna in the Global Humanitarian Space dedicated to the 500^th anniversary of Belarus’ book printing, a scientific conference Polotsk Readings, the final of the national competition of young readers Living Classics, and numerous exhibitions and concerts. Other noteworthy events are a festival of books and mass media, the inauguration ceremony of a monument “Polotsk is the cradle of Belarusian statehood”, and the presentation of a unique art project Three Sophias powered by the CIS Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation. Members of the expedition Road to Sacred Places are set to arrive in Polotsk with the Holy Fire from the Holy Sepulcher.

The highlights of the third day of celebrations will be a first-day-of-issue stamp dedication ceremony to celebrate the Belarusian Written Language Day, a ceremony to announce the winners of the National Literature Award, and a ceremony to pass the torch of the Belarusian Written Language Day to the town of Ivanovo, Brest Oblast. Various venues and marketplaces will be arranged alongside exhibitions and literature and music projects. The concert Golden Collection of Belarusian Songs by famous artists is expected to wrap up the Belarusian Written Language Day in Polotsk. The organizers are trying to make the festival a unique and memorable event, since the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian book printing has been included into the UNESCO Calendar of Events, which once again confirms the international recognition of Francysk Skaryna’s legacy.