To the participants and guests of the events

marking Belarusian Written Language Day

Dear friends,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on Belarusian Written Language Day.

Over the years of its existence, this holiday has become a prominent mark in the cultural life of our country, a symbol of celebration of its spiritual values.

The Belarusian written language stems from Euphrosyne of Polotsk and Kirill of Turov; it gained strength through the printed works of Francysk Skaryna, Symon Budny and Simyaon of Polotsk; it rose to international prominence via the works of Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala, Maksim Bogdanovich, Vladimir Karatkevich, Ivan Shamyakin, Ivan Melezh, and other remarkable Belarusian wordsmiths.

This year, it is the hospitable Smorgon District, which is home to many renowned educators and cultural figures, that plays host to the main celebrations marking Belarusian Written Language Day. This district is inalienably associated with Francysk Bagushevich, our great poet who devoted his creative work to asserting the high ideals of social justice, dignity of the common man.

I sincerely wish all the organisers and guests of this celebration to be optimistic, happy, prosperous, and successful in your creative work.

Alexander Lukashenko