500 Years of Belarusian Book Printing

MINSK, 14 September (BelTA) – About 600 delegates from 24 countries are taking part in the two-day international congress 500 Years of the Belarusian Book Printing in Minsk, Director of the National Library of Belarus Roman Motulsky said at the opening of the congress, BelTA has learned.

These are well-known public and political figures, diplomats, heads and leading specialists of scientific, educational and cultural establishments from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, the UK, Germany, China, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Montenegro and other countries.

The 500^th anniversary of the Belarusian and East-Slavonic book printing is a remarkable event of 2017. The event is taking place in Belarus, on the native land of Francysk Skaryna. The international congress to mark 500 years of the Belarusian book printing fully meets the UNESCO goals and ideas and is held under the patronage of the organization.

The major theme of the plenary session will be the role of Belarus in the development and preservation of the book heritage of Europe and also the book legacy of Francysk Skaryna and his successors. The program will also include an international panel discussion to highlight Documentary Heritage in Central Europe: Ways to Preserve, Study and Popularize, and also the 20^th General Meeting of the Non-for-Profit Partnership Library Assembly of Eurasia, and the 13^th international book readings.

According to Roman Motulsky, another bright event will be the international exhibition project Francysk Skaryna and his Epoch, which will open at the National Library of Belarus on 14 September.

The international congress is organized by the Culture Ministry and the National Library of Belarus. Among the co-organizers are the Central European Initiative (CEI), the CIS Interstate Fund of Humanitarian Cooperation and the Mobility Scheme for Targeted People-to-People-Contacts (MOST).

The official partners of the congress include the Bank BelVEB, Tregross Info and Vladimir Grevtsov Agency.