All the year, the National Library of Belarus has held events to mark the unique book’s anniversary and promote Belarusian culture. Celebrations on the occasion of the publication of the Primer facsimile took place in Switzerland.
On November 27, the director of the National Library of Belarus, Roman Motulsky, visited the Department of East Slavic Languages and Literatures at the Faculty of Letters, the University of Geneva, where he spoke to students about the book culture of Belarus in the context of European and national history, focusing on the origins and development of writing.
The event featured the inauguration of a permanent mini exposition at the Faculty of Letters’ library. The exhibition presents publications from the collections of the National Library of Belarus about the Belarusian language, literature and culture.
At the opening ceremony, Roman Motulsky presented and donated to the University of Geneva a facsimile of the world’s first book called "Primer". He spoke about the history of publishing and its importance for Belarus:
"This is a unique monument of Enlightenment thought in Belarus and the earliest printed basic literacy manual. The publication reveals the importance and uniqueness of the Primer and is designed to promote the best examples of Belarusian book culture and to preserve people’s spiritual heritage."
The event was attended by representatives of the University administration, dean's office, teaching staff, University as well as the diplomatic corps and students of Slavic languages.
On November 28, the celebrations continued at the University of Bern.
The Institute of Slavic Languages and Literatures hosted a symposium on Belarusian Studies in Bern. Roman Motulsky introduced the attendees to the project to reproduce the Primer and donated to the University a collection of Belarusian publications about the country’s socio-economic and political life, history and culture. The Director of the National Library of Belarus pointed out that the donated books would be of practical interest to university students and faculty.
Irina Podtergera, Ph.D., professor at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Slavic Studies, and also assistants of the Institute of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Elias Bunatiru and Simeon Dekker delivered lectures on the history of the Belarusian language and literature.
The symposium was attended by the representatives of Belarus: Vladimir Prokoptsov, director general of the National Art Museum of Belarus, Pavel Matsukevich, Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Belarus in the Swiss Confederation, and Vladislav Sahaschik, Third Secretary of the Embassy.
On the same day, Roman Motulsky met with Eva Maurer, director of the Swiss Library of Eastern Europe. The library received as a gift a collections of Belarusian publications – winners of the national contest "Art of the Book" and other prestigious awards within the framework of the project "Belarus Today". The collection includes the best fiction, scientific and popular publications, encyclopedias, reference books and photo albums.
The visit was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the Swiss Confederation.
The world's first Primer facsimile was released in partnership with the Honorable Society of the Middle Temple in London, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, the International Association of Belarusian Scholars, Belarusian State University, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction "Belinvestbank".
All materials are provided by the Public Relations Department.
