Ukrainian Bookshelf Opens in Durrës in Albania

On Feb. 9, the project “Ukrainian Bookshelf” under the patronage of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska was presented in the second populous Albanian city Durrës.

The Ambassador of Ukraine in Albania Volodymyr Shkurov and Durrës Mayor Emiriana Sako visited the opening of another Ukrainian bookshelf in the Durrës Public Library.

Shkurov thanked the Albanian government and especially the city mayor for supporting Ukrainian culture. He talked about the damage Russia caused to Ukrainian heritage and civilian infrastructure.

“This project and Ukrainian culture popularization are especially important today as the Russians try to destroy Ukrainian identity. They are ruining our libraries and cultural sites. So saving our books you in a sense are saving Ukrainians. As you can say we are what we read,” said the Ambassador.

He added that the “Ukrainian Bookshelf” project had been launched before the full-scale invasion, and has already been implemented in 28 cities. On Aug. 19, the shelf with the Ukrainian books appeared in the capital of Albania Tirana.

“According to the pre-war plans, the project had to be implemented in March 2022. But it was delayed due to obvious reasons. To be honest, we, the representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy in Albania, in March 2022 were busy mostly with handing over the humanitarian aid from Albania to Ukraine and taking care of the evacuated mothers with children,” noted Shkurov.

“It is important to have Ukrainian books everywhere where Ukrainians live now. It is a bridge between their temporary home and their home in Ukraine,” quoted the Ambassador referring to Olena Zelenska.

Shkurov presented two Ukrainian books to Durrës Mayor Sako.

The Ukrainian documentary “Leaving Irpin” with Albanian subtitles was shown at the bookshelf opening.

Currently, the Ukrainian bookshelf is available in Austria, Turkey, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Greece, Latvia, Finland, Jordan, Croatia, Lebanon, Japan, Belgium, Albania, the Republic of Korea, Germany, Qatar, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Azerbaijan.