International Children’s Book Fair opened in Chisinau

The eleventh edition of the International Children’s Book Fair was opened at the Puppet Theatre “Licurici” in Chisinau on April 18, Info-Prim Neo reports. The ceremony was opened by the organiser of this show, the director of the children’s Library “Ion Creanga”, Claudia Balaban, who stressed the importance of the book in children’s life and education. “The International Children’s Book Fair in Chisinau, launched in April 1997, is one of the most important cultural events that take place in the last few years in Moldova, in which more and more publishing houses in the world want to participate”, Claudia Balaban mentioned. For their part, Chair of Writers Union Mihai Cimpoi, composer Constantin Rusnac, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Artur Cozma, of Education and Youth Victor Tvircun, mentioned in their speeches that the Fair stresses for the eleventh time the importance it gained in the editorial world, but also the role of the smallest readers. According to them, the Fair’s mission is to support the publishing and issuing of children’s book, as well as to promote the book of a high artistic level. A number of 96 publishing houses from Moldova, Romania, Russia, France, China, Ukraine, Germany, which propose the small readers the best editions, participate in the Fair. The Fair’s programme includes a series of events, among which the exhibitions “Împăratul visului curat": Literary Medallion dedicated to writer Spiridon Vangheli, symposium "The children’s lecture between necessity and passion", conference “Transborder cultural projects - informational and educational impact on Moldovan and Romanian libraries”, conference “Ion Creanga in “Literary Conversations”, workshops “International Centre of Bibliographic Information “Ion Creanga”: presentation of databases" and “The Service of References in the Library". At the same time, it is planned a meeting of the children-laureates of national and international contests for literary creation. As part of the Fair, which will last by April 21, there will be organised “The Children’s Forum”, or the meeting of the laureates of the Essay Contest ”Which book would I write”, multiple book exhibitions, as well as the Fair’s awarding ceremony. The current edition of the International Children’s Book Fair is organised by the National Department of the International Children and Youth Book Council, MCT, MET, National Commission of Moldova for UNESCO, National Library for Children “Ion Creanga”, the County Library “Gheorghe Asachi” Iasi, the Book Distribution Society “Pro Noi” etc. The fifteenth edition of the National Book Fair “Librex”, which brings together 127 participating firms, editors, book distributors, writers, poets and literary critics, will be held in the same period.