[Press release] European Publishers’ Associations and the Ukrainian Book Institute launch Tales of EUkraine in Bologna

The project will provide bilingual books for Ukrainian refugee children in Europe

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the Ukrainian Book Institute (UBI), in coordination with a partnership of six national Publishers’ Association in Europe, will present for the first time the project Tales of EUkraine (TEUk) during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (Bologna, Italy), on 6 March 2023 at the BBPlus Theatre.

TEUk is a project funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, which aims to print and distribute to Ukrainian children displaced in several European countries bilingual editions of children’s books.

Ricardo Franco Levi, President of the Federation of European Publishers and of the Italian Publishers Association, declared: “Since the beginning of the Russian aggression of Ukraine, European publishers have been showing solidarity toward their Ukrainian colleagues. We are grateful to the European Commission for recognising the value of Tales of EUkraine. Thanks to TEUk, European publishers will be able to continue helping Ukrainian refugees and at the same time support the book sector’s recovery in Ukraine.”

Sonia Draga, Vice-President of the Federation of European Publishers and President of the Polish Chamber of Books, stressed the cultural relevance of the project: “TEUk shows the solidarity of European publishers with Ukraine’s fight for democracy and freedom of speech. Books can preserve Ukrainian culture and freedom from the blows of Russian propaganda, and Tales of EUkraine will help hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children to keep a connection with their homeland while integrating in their host countries.”

TEUk will produce a Rights Catalogue of more than 100 Ukrainian children’s books available for purchase in different European territories. With the support of their national associations, publishers can acquire the rights for the books and publish them. Their national publishers’ associations will then acquire a substantial part of the printed copies with the contribution of Creative Europe funding and will supervise the books’ distribution. Publishers’ associations will rely on a network of NGOs, public institutions, and other entities with the necessary expertise for the books to reach migrant hubs and other relevant community centers.

Tales of EUkraine will run for three years, until October 2025. Publishers’ associations already partners in the project are: the Italian Publishers’ Association – AIE, the Polish Chamber of Books – PIK, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association – BOEV, the Romanian Publishers’ Association – AER, the Bulgarian Book Association – ABK, and the Association of Publishers and Booksellers of the Slovak Republic – ZVKS. The inclusion of further publishers’ associations is already planned and will depend on the evolution of the Ukrainian conflict and migration dynamics.

All the updates on the project’s development will be available on TEUk’s blog and social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Inquiries should be directed at info@fep-fee.eu.

Press release available in PDF