Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 12 July (BelTA) – Belarus is a vivid example of successful coexistence of two languages, Vitaly Ignatenko, President of the World Association of Russian Press (WARP), UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, noted during a plenary session at the 19^th World Congress of Russian Press in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus is a vivid example of successful coexistence of two languages and a most favorable attitude to the Russian language,” Vitaly Ignatenko said. He pointed to the personal contribution of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to this.

Vitaly Ignatenko remarked that he put on the medal of Francysk Skaryna presented by the president for a reason. “It is important that the 500^th anniversary of book printing in Belarus is celebrated at a large scale. Francysk Skaryna did a lot for the development of sciences and languages in Slavic countries. He was among the first people to translate the Bible, too,” the Vitaly Ignatenko pointed out.

He underlined that Minsk has been hosting high-profile international events since recently. “The OSCE session that has just ended in Minsk came up with many important initiatives for Europe and the world. Today the city hosts the Russian press forum,” Vitaly Ignatenko said.

The 19th World Congress of Russian Press “Partnership for the future: priorities of modern civilization” has brought together mass media representatives from 52 countries in Belarus. The country is hosting the congress for the second time. The first time was in 2013. The event is organized by the World Association of Russian Press, the Belarusian Information Ministry, and the World Russian Press Foundation.

The World Association of Russian Press was established on 24 June 1999. It is an open international non-governmental association of print and digital media, news agencies, publishing houses, television channels, and radio programs. According to the WARP Council, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, radio and television broadcasts in Russian are now available in over 70 countries across the globe. A significant number of them are represented in WARP or cooperate with the association.