Twentieth issue of International Book Fair for Children and Youth inaugurated in Chisinau

Chisinau, 14 April /MOLDPRES/ - The 20th issue of the International Book Fair for Children and Youth, held on 14-17 April, was inaugurated at the Moldexpo centre from Chisinau on 14 April. This year edition of the fair is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence.

As many as 120 publishing houses and book distributors from Moldova, Romania, France, Germany, China, Italy, Poland, Russia and Hungary are represented at the present issue. About 75 book titles will be launched within the fair.  

Contacted by the director of the Ion Creanga National Library for Children, Claudia Balaban, has said that the International Book Fair for Children and Youth was one of the most representative events in the landscape of Moldova’s culture.     

“Our main goal is to promote the book for children. The fair offers diverse possibilities to visitors: to know more publishing houses of Moldova and from abroad; to learn about new important book titles; participate in discussions and meetings with writers, workshops, contests, professional meetings; to purchase books at low prices. During the four days, we will have more interactive actions, which get children closer to books, show them the road towards the good book and library,” Balaban said.     

The heads of the Moldovan Writers’ Union, Arcadie Suceveanu, said, for his part, that the International Book Fair for Children and Youth was a nice holiday of books. “The fair has become a cultural brand of Chisinau, an emblem of the Chisinau spring,” Suceveanu said.

Hungarian Ambassador to Moldova Mátyás Szilágyi stressed that the fair represented a cultural bridge between more countries. “We have come with more books in Hungarian, as well as in Romanian. I hope that this year issue will be a success,” the Hungarian diplomat said.    

According to the organizers, the surprise book, given the children free of charge, is an element which makes the Chisinau fair different from other similar actions from the world this year as well. Under the regulation, this book belongs to the author who got the prize Book of the Year at the previous issue of the fair.

The International Book Fair for Children and Youth is organised by the Culture Ministry, Education Ministry, Youth and Sport Ministry, Ion Creanga National Library for Children, Writers Union, Fine Artists’ Union, as well as other culture institutions.   

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor A. Raileanu)