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Hay Festival has announced a new digital partnership with Ukraine’s largest literature festival, Lviv BookForum.
Taking place between 6th and 9th October, the 29th Lviv BookForum in Ukraine aims to create a civic space for a free and tolerant exchange of ideas between writers and readers around the world.
The hybrid programme – part in-person and part through virtual live appearances – will blend contemporary Ukrainian writers with literary figures from around the world in conversations ranging from art in times of conflict, memory, gender-equality, loss, corruption, imperialism, and hope.
As digital partner for the first time, Hay Festival will broadcast these conversations for free online in English, Spanish and Ukrainian to a global audience, while bolstering the programme with a specially curated strand of online events pairing renowned international writers with their Ukrainian contemporaries. The full programme will be announced in mid-September.
Sofia Cheliak, Lviv BookForum curator and translator, said: “Our 29th Lviv BookForum will tell our story to the world. We wish to illuminate what is happening in Ukraine and why. And we explain it with the help of culture. We also want to show the Ukrainian audience how the artists around the globe stand with us in solidarity, that Ukrainian authors and their voices are needed and valued more than ever.
“We could not do this without the support of Hay Festival. The authors who will come to Lviv and join us online are people who understand: their actions are a manifestation of strength and fight for Ukraine and, foremost, for a democratic world. This festival is another proof that Ukraine will win – with its own efforts and the efforts of colleagues, partners, and friends from all over the world.”
Cristina Fuentes La Roche, Hay Festival international director, added: “With freedom of expression under attack globally, organisations such as Hay Festival and Lviv BookForum are more important than ever before as catalysts for change by exercising freedom of speech and the tolerant exchange of ideas. We hugely admire the Lviv BookForum team and their mission and wish to support them in accessing our global audience of curious minds and influential stakeholders.”
Julie Finch, Hay Festival c.e.o. also commented: “For 36 years, Hay Festival has lit a beacon for enlightenment, bringing writers and readers together in events that inspire, examine and entertain. In a volatile world of anger and corrupted language, we champion empathy and curiosity; stories and truths are told, ideas are shared, and audiences are encouraged to imagine the world from other perspectives and with renewed and audacious hope. This new partnership, an exciting expansion of our global work with the British Council, will bring new audiences to Lviv BookForum and champion their essential work.”