First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in a public conversation between Ukrainian and French cultural figures titled “The Voyage That Continues. How the Season of Culture Is Changing Perceptions of Ukraine in France.” The event took place as part of the 14th International Book Arsenal Festival.
The First Lady called this symbolic, as French literature has been read in Ukraine for centuries, and it is equally important for French readers to finally discover Ukrainian literature.
“That is why the day in December of last year when, together with the Institut français, the Ukrainian Institute, and the foreign affairs and culture ministries of both countries, in the presence of Mrs. Macron and Paris Mayor Hidalgo, we opened the Ukrainian Season in France was special for me. Once, Ukrainian artists traveled to Paris to be inspired by the freedom of art. Now museums are discovering Ukrainian art, French stages are sounding in Ukrainian, and Ukrainian courses are appearing at universities,” Olena Zelenska said.
The President’s wife noted that over four months, the Ukrainian Season covered 11 regions and 43 cities in France. A total of 70 projects were implemented, bringing together nearly 190 events in various formats and about 200 participants from different sectors and fields. This helped define a new stage of long-term cooperation between Ukrainian and French cultural institutions.
“Now that the Season has concluded, we can be confident that thousands of French people have encountered Ukrainian creativity in person. And personal experience is more convincing than any explanation,” Olena Zelenska noted.
The First Lady emphasized that the cultural and educational cooperation established between the countries during the Season continues: 16 French universities have already joined the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies.
“We are continuing an active dialogue with Sorbonne University on future joint academic and interdisciplinary projects. Cooperation with the University of Bordeaux is deepening, with Ukrainian language courses and humanitarian initiatives developing there. And I especially want to highlight our cooperation with the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris, where Crimean Tatar and Crimean studies are developing,” the President’s wife emphasized.
The Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies includes 69 higher education institutions from 26 countries. Olena Zelenska’s Ukrainian Bookshelf initiative is also actively developing. There are already 390 of them around the world, including seven in France.
“I truly believe that culture and knowledge, if we let them in, are more resilient than any aggression. Because aggression lives where there is ignorance. And where people know more about one another, understand and respect diversity instead of denying it, civilization will endure. I thank everyone who is building this world through culture and knowledge,” the First Lady concluded.