On February 21-23, PEN Ukraine held its 29th literary and volunteer trip to the South. The trip was attended by authors and members of the administrative team: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Kateryna Kalytko, Tetiana Ogarkova, Svitlana Povaliaieva, Volodymyr Sheiko, Diana Deliurman, Eliza Zhdanova, Maksym Sytnikov.
This time, PEN Ukraine joined the Second Southern Festival of Mother Tongues, which this year takes place in Mykolaiv. The annual event was launched in 2024 on the initiative of the Department for the Implementation of Humanitarian Policy of the Kherson Regional State Administration. As part of the festival, PEN Ukraine’s authors took part in a panel discussion held at the Mykolaiv Regional Library for Youth.
After that, we went to Snihurivka, a de-occupied town on the border of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. We replenished the funds of the Public Library of the Snihurivka City Council with new books and learned about the situation in the frontline settlement.
The next day they went to Kherson. There, the authors met with the defenders of the hero city: soldiers of the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine, the Marine Corps, and combat medics. They discussed current events in the world and the importance of cultural diplomacy.
After the meeting with the military, we delivered books to local libraries. In particular, they visited the Event Library and the Central Children’s Library, and met with library workers who work just a few kilometers from the contact line.
Soon we will go on the road again!
We are grateful to the International Renaissance Foundation and Book Aid International for supporting our literary and volunteer trips.
Source: PEN Ukraine
