Minsk International Book Fair to kick off on 23 March

Belarus' Deputy Information Minister Igor Buzovsky unveiled the details of the Minsk International Book Fair 2022 that will be held at the BelExpo exhibition center on 23-27 March, BelTA has learned. 

“The book exhibition has already become a landmark and has won a name for itself in Belarus and far beyond. The number of participants is a testimony to that. This year will be no exception. We have done our best to make this exhibition a remarkable event and another milestone in the domestic book industry. This year the exhibition will be themed around the Year of Historical Memory,” Igor Buzovsky said. 

He noted that the stand “River of Time of the Fatherland” will take the center stage at the exhibition. “The central stand will be designed in the form of a river of time, a river of events that took place on our land and were described in books. The Fatherland project is a recent joint project with the media. There will be a stand featuring photographs that will come to life. Using a photo scanning application visitors will be able to see how the places depicted on these photos looked before. These unique photographs come from the collection of Vladimir Likhodedov,” Igor Buzovsky said. 

One of the important sections is “Jubilee in the Book World”. This year marks a large number of memorable dates of Belarusian classical writers. We could not ignore these dates. It is also symbolic that this section is designed by the publishing house Mastatskaya Litaratura, because this year it celebrates its 50th anniversary. By celebrating these anniversaries, we will give a symbolic nod to all the new projects and also see new publications of books by the national classical writers,” the deputy minister added. 

Another section will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Library with a show of books, projects and thematic expositions. 

“The central stand of the Information Ministry will present about 5,000 books published in Belarus. Books will be showcased at the stand of the Union of Writers. The Union of Writers will hold a congress that will bring together talented Belarusian writers and the exhibition delegates,” he stressed. 

This year, the organizers have attached particular importance to the children's section, which will become an integral part of the book fair. “We analyzed the needs and desires of readers. Since bookstores sell a lot of school, children's and educational literature, we decided to launch an ‘educational quarter' at the book fair. Here, we will show that history can be of interest to children too. Another important goal of ours is to teach children to write with a pen. Today's kids mostly use mobile phones, laptops, PCs and the importance of calligraphy goes into the background. We will show how books were made in the past. This process will fascinate and educate them at the same time,” said Igor Buzovsky. 

Another idea is to arrange meetings with famous contemporary writers. “Students usually see the pictures of authors in school textbooks. We would like children to meet them in person, to get an opportunity to talk to them,” the deputy minister said. 

The Literary Startup project is tailored for the youth audience. “The project is in full swing, and its results will be summed up during the book fair. It is a good opportunity to present your work and get a chance to have it published. This initiative proved successful last year,” Igor Buzovsky said. 

In his words, the book fair will feature an array of events. A poetry bus will be humming along the streets of Minsk, between Nemiga metro station and BelExpo. You will have a chance to talk to writers and poets during your ride to the exhibition center.

Written by belta.by