New fund to aid war-hit Ukrainian writers launched with support from Sharjah
Sharjah World Book Capital Office supports Wrocław Literature House to launch fund
Sharjah: Sharjah World Book Capital Office (SWBCO) and Wrocław Literature House in Poland, the operator of Wrocław Unesco City of Literature, have jointly announced the ‘Stand with Ukrainian Writers Fund.’
The fund has been launched to provide much-needed financial support to writers, translators and others in the publishing industry who have lost their livelihood in Ukraine, a media statement said on Wednesday.
In response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Wroclaw Literature House sent out an appeal for help to Unesco Cities of Literature and World Book Capitals right after the war broke out in late February and got an immediate response from SWBCO.
With SWBCO’s support, the Stand with Ukrainian Writers Fund was established with the aim to provide financial support for writers, translators and other people of the book who remain in Ukraine and who have lost their livelihood. The Fund will finance scholarships and/or copyright purchase.
Give peace a chance
Bodour Al Qasimi, president of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and head of the SWBC Advisory Committee, said: “It gives me great joy to see that a Fund for Ukrainian writers, caught in the crossfires of conflict, is finally in place. Now more than ever, we need words to heal, and books to bridge the divide, to help give peace a chance. The literary world, I believe, offers a gateway to peace, and it is our collective humanitarian duty as the global literary community to come together in support of this noble initiative.”
Support the fund
Commenting on this new fund, Irek Grin, director of Wroclaw Literature House said: “We urge the international literary community to support this fund. All donations will be used to directly support authors, illustrators and translators, and, in future, will finance translation samples of Ukrainian literature into other languages.”
Wroclaw Literature House will also closely cooperate with other Polish institutions and organisations (such as Literary Union Association and Polish Literary Translators Association), as well as Ukrainian Unesco Cities of Literature and Ukrainian Book Institute, to recognise the needs of Ukrainian writers in the best possible way, the statement added.