Bogdana Layuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture, believes that literary awards are one of the most effective ways to influence readers’ tastes, but Ukraine currently lacks them.
“In fact, this is the case in every country. And today, romance and dark fantasy are at the top of the charts everywhere: that’s the spirit of the times. People are trying to escape reality and enter another, imaginary world, such as the one offered by fantasy literature… I think it’s worth considering how bestseller lists are formed and who can influence them: how market players affect this and how the state can influence it. One way to exert such influence is, for example, through prestigious literary awards. “We all follow the Booker Prize, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the English-speaking world,” said Layuk in an exclusive interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency, responding to a question about the reading preferences of Ukrainians.
She noted that when a book makes it onto the longlist and then the shortlist—for example, for the Booker Prize—and ultimately wins, it has a massive impact on sales.
“And that’s what we call the ‘high shelf.’ “I think we should consider how the reading infrastructure is formed and how we can influence it—both as the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and as bookstores, publishers, cultural centers, and cities. And literary awards are one of the most effective ways to influence the formation of such best-seller lists,” the deputy minister added.
When asked whether there are enough literary awards in Ukraine, Lajuk stated that, in her opinion, there is currently a shortage of such awards in Ukraine.
“In fact, there are a great many literary awards in Ukraine. But the question is how they influence the discourse, whether they affect sales, and whether they bring the author recognition, fame, and money. In my opinion, Ukraine currently lacks such awards. And when we look at the experience of European Union countries, we see that there are state and non-state awards, national awards, as well as regional and city awards,” the deputy minister noted.
As an example, she cited the “Angelus” Prize in Wrocław for literature from Central and Eastern Europe, which has been awarded at various times to Ukrainian authors: Yuriy Andrukhovych, Oksana Zabuzhko, Serhiy Zhadan, and Kateryna Babkina.
“Awards serve very different functions in literature. But a literary award should give the author a chance to pause and reflect on what he or she wants to write next. Because truly outstanding novels don’t just happen by chance. They don’t come about when a writer pens them at 3 a.m. during the first five free minutes of the day. An outstanding book requires space. And we must—both as a country and as a cultural community—create that space so that Ukrainian writers can write new, outstanding books,” Lajuk believes.
As previously reported, Ukraine has the following literary awards, among others: the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, the BBC Book of the Year, “Coronation of the Word,” the Yuri Shevelov Prize, the Lesya Ukrainka Prize, the Pavlo Tychyna Prize, the Maksym Rylsky Prize, and several others.
Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine intend to cooperate in the restoration of cultural infrastructure.
“We are working on bringing the storage facilities for cultural property in museums in line with technical requirements. We also need the creation of a specialized depository, in particular, the development of project documentation and financial support for technical re-equipment. In addition, another global project is the renovation of the National Restoration Center. This institute is working at the maximum of its capabilities, but in rented unsuitable premises. We have already found premises for re-location. Now it will be necessary to re-equip and improve the qualifications of employees”, – Acting Minister Rostislav Karandeev is quoted by the press service of the Ministry after a meeting with the team of the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation JICA.
Ot also noted the information challenges, said that Ukraine is actively strengthening work with the frontline territories, the most exposed to the influence of enemy propaganda, and emphasized the interest in cooperation in information support of these regions.
“Our team is engaged in the reconstruction of Ukraine. We are providing assistance that aims to provide emergency needs, but we are also interested in cooperation on cultural issues because we understand its potential,” Naomichi Murooka, deputy director general of the Local and Regional Development Group of the Infrastructure Management Department of JICA’s head office, said at the meeting.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine (MCIP) presented a new visual brand of the department.
“The rebranding aims to show the ministry as a modern state institution that meets today’s challenges. The new brand style represents the current Ukrainian culture – attractive and understandable for modern Ukrainians,” the ministry’s press service said.
It is noted that the new logo of the Ministry of Culture is “light and graceful”, the sketches of the letters in the logo have careful references to ancient Russian calligraphy, such as “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and the manuscripts of Kyivan Rus.
“The abbreviation MCIP is sewn into the new logo, the thin outline and rounding are subconsciously read as soft and friendly elements that create dynamics like a reflection of a new round of history and culture. The intersection of letters in the abbreviation reminds of the interdisciplinarity of the areas of MCIp’s work. The logo can be used as a full-color sign, combining two colors, and as a monochrome sign, which provides for the use of only black or white,” the message says.
The logo is based on two colors: yellow and red, which are supposed to be used only on a contrasting background.
It is noted that minimalism is taken as the basis for the new corporate identity of the ministry.
“When developing the new identity, the main attention was paid to such strategic directions as: culture, creative economy, information policy, tourism, as well as major restoration,” the ministry said.
The ministry’s new identity was reportedly developed by Green Penguin creative agency with the support of USAID Transformation Communications Activity.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has renamed the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports into the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. Also, by resolution No. 231 of March 23, the government amended acts that related to the activities of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, replacing the name of the department with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers abolished all the functions of this ministry, which related to youth and sports.
As reported, on March 4, the Verkhovna Rada supported the appointment of Vadym Gutzeit as Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
