"The Light of Skaryna", a final gala event dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book-printing, was held in the National Library, on 21 December.
The year 2017, which will soon turn the page, has been especially rich in anniversaries and exciting events. The celebration of the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book-printing has been the highlight of the year, followed by the whole country.
On the occasion of the anniversary, a number of holiday events, celebrations, presentations and scientific conferences have been conducted in Belarus and abroad; the large-scale international exhibition and publishing projects have been implemented, and several movies and theatrical plays have been produced.
We recall the International Symposium of Writers, which took place as part of the Minsk International Book Fair, the premiere of the movie Skaryna (film director Alexei Rakovich), the Belarusian Written Language Day in Polotsk, the international publishing project for the facsimile reconstruction of Skaryna’s book heritage, and many others. The devoted work of officials, scientists and creative teams is behind all these events.
"The Light of Skaryna" gathered at the National Library all involved in the organization of jubilee events, in order to summarize the year and express gratitude for the festival at the highest level.
The event guests were greeted by Belarus Minister of Information Aleksander Karlyukevich, the head of the Directorate for cultural and folk art institutions at the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, Natalya Zaderkovskaya, and the director of the National Library of Belarus, Roman Motulsky.
During the event, heads and employees of agencies, organizations and companies received awards for a significant contribution to the celebration of the landmark anniversary.
The co-chairs of the committee in charge of the preparation of the celebrations, Lilia Ananich and Boris Svetlov, received diplomas for active participation in the preparation and holding of events dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book-printing.
Diplomas were also awarded to the director of the National Library of Belarus, Roman Motulsky, the director of the National Theater of Belarusian Drama,Vladimir Karachevsky, the chair of the Belarusian Union of Artists, Gregory Sitnitsa, the director of the Center for the Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature of the NAS of Belarus, Alexander Lukashanets, the chief of the central directorate of the channel "Belarus-3" Natalya Marinova and others.
The Union of Writers of Belarus and staff of the publishing houses "Belkniga", "Vitebskoblsoyuzpechat", "Belarusian Encyclopedia named after Petrus Brovka", "Mastatskaya litaratura", "Belarus", "Narodnaya asveta", "Zvyazda" received diplomas for publications dedicated to Skaryna and the history of Belarusian book-printing.
The Belarusian State Academy of Arts, staff of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, representatives of the Embassies of Belarus in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Lithuania, and other persons who took an active part in the anniversary celebration also received awards.
The event guests enjoyed the melodious songs performed by the vocal group "Chysty golas" and recitations of the winner of the Republican competition among young elocutionists “Living Classics”, Daria Rovtovich, and the actress Tamara Nikolaeva-Opiyok.
The jubilee celebrations are nearing completion: gifts donated, expressed gratitude, the venue lights are going out. And from anything done, something meaningful and eternal arises – the light of Skaryna’s word, that has flashed even brighter!
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