In November, a set of events dedicated to the 525th anniversary of the first Belarusian printer Francysk Skaryna took place in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Lithuania.
The official ceremony began with the laying of flowers at the memorial plaque of Francysk Skaryna on the Town Hall Square in Vilnius, at the place where, as expected, the first printer’s typography was located.
Representatives of the Belarusian Diaspora in Vilnius, heads of the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania, the Vilnius City Hall, the National Libraries of Belarus and Lithuania and many stakeholders participated in the ceremony
An important event was the presentation and donation to the main libraries of the Republic of Lithuania (the National Library of Lithuania named after M. Mažvydas, the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences named after Wroblewski and the Library of the Vilnius University) and the Vilnius Belarusian gymnasium named after F. Skaryna the facsimile reproduction of the book heritage of Francysk Skaryna. During the presentation the parties discussed the joint efforts of libraries of Lithuania and Belarus to prepare for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book printing in 2017.
Within the frameworks of the presentation, the cooperation agreement between the National Library of Belarus and the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences named after Wroblewski was signed. The agreement will promote closer and mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries in the field of librarianship.
Also on November 20 and 21, the international science conference “The Book Tradition of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania” was held. The event gathered experts from Belarus and Lithuania for a joint study of the book heritage of our countries. The conference was organized by the Belarusian Cultural Society in Lithuania “Siabryna”, the Lithuanian Association of Belarusian Studies, the institute of the Lithuanian Language, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to Lithuania and the National Library of Belarus.
Joint conferences and other scientific events allows to unite scientific forces to study the common cultural heritage of Belarus and Lithuania, that will serve to strengthen international cultural relations.
It is symbolic that these events took place in the bilateral Belarusian-Lithuanian format as the activities of Scaryna and many of his followers unites our cultures. Francysk Skaryna who was born in Polotsk, studied in Krakow and Padua, published his book in Prague and Vilnius, had joined these cities with the indissoluble bond.
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