President of Ukraine

Olena Zelenska about the launch of Ukrainian-language audio guides: Ukrainian sounds as the language of culture, historical memory, and the struggle for the future

25 October 2023 - 12:20

Olena Zelenska about the launch of Ukrainian-language audio guides: Ukrainian sounds as the language of culture, historical memory, and the struggle for the future

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has announced the launch of new Ukrainian-language audio guides as part of a project to promote the Ukrainian language in prominent historical landmarks around the world.

Thus, the Ukrainian-language audio guide is now available at the Viking Museum in Stockholm.

"The ancient Scandinavian seafarers initiated the dynasty of Kyivan princes, sailed the Dnipro for centuries, lived on its shores, and forever became a part of our history and legends. Symbolically, they will now tell their adventures in Ukrainian," Olena Zelenska said.

Ukrainian-language audio guides are also available at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk (a modern cultural institution commemorating Poland's greatest civic success – the victory of the Solidarity movement), the Imperial Treasury in Austria, the ancient city of Aspendos in Türkiye, and the Illinois Holocaust Museum in the United States – the third-largest museum of its kind in the world, visited by over 130,000 people each year.

The project to introduce Ukrainian-language audio guides at cultural landmarks around the world has already encompassed 75 museums and historical sites in 43 countries. It has been implemented in renowned locations such as the Louvre and Versailles (France), Westminster Abbey (the United Kingdom), the Colosseum and Borghese Gallery (Italy), the Albertina Gallery (Austria), and the Rijksmuseum (the Netherlands).

"Ukrainian sounds in these places as the language of culture, historical memory, and the struggle for the future – for all those who want to hear precisely this language," the First Lady said.

Olena Zelenska thanked the Ukrainian embassies in Sweden, Poland, Austria, Türkiye and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago for implementing the project and popularizing the Ukrainian language and culture in the world.