Dear Mr. Adams,

Distinguished guests,

Cher collègues,

Пані та панове,

 

It’s a great honour and pleasure for me to welcome you on the opening ceremony of the exhibition dedicated to Taras Shevchenko. A man whose name is a symbol of patriotism and struggle for freedom, love to the culture of his people, deep devotion to the advancement of the Ukrainian nation.

Il y a des nations créées par de grands guerriers, il y a des nations créées par de grands poètes. Les dernières ont destin historique beaucoup plus compliqué, mais il semble qu'elles ont certains avantages humanitaires.

This year we mark the 200th anniversary of the birthday of the Great Prometheus of Ukrainian nation-building in the XIX century. March 9, 1814 is one of the remarkable dates in the calendar of UNESCO.

Shevchenko’s genius is truly multifaceted.Taras was a great painter that rightfully joined the pantheon of the world art. He was an inspirational poet, a talented dramatist, novelist, philosopher, ethnographer, author of textbooks, folklorist. His works were translated worldwide into 150 languages. His artistic legacy consists of more than 1000 works. More than 120 composers created over 500 choral, solo, opera on his poetry.

Prometheus, Prophet, Apostle, Kobzar... He was a spiritual leader and inspirer in the period of hard times, when the Ukrainian people were brutally oppressed in the Russian empire.

Although Shevchenko fought fervently against the Russian monarchy and oppression, he truly honoured and loved the great Russian people and unique and magnificent Russian culture. Ultimately, his struggle for freedom was a struggle not only for Ukrainians, but also for Russians and other oppressed peoples.

There is indeed a lot of incomprehensible in the phenomenon of Taras Shevchenko.

How could one poet with his word as a weapon wake up the oppressed nation from lethargy, arouse deep transformation processes that have been gaining power with each generation and led to formation of the modern Ukrainian nation with a highly developed European culture?

"He was born a slave and became a giant in the realm of humanistic culture," - said another prominent Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko about Shevchenko.

Taras became a well-known painter and poet when he was 31. A martyr in the

 name of national reawakening, Shevchenko spent at liberty only 13 years out of his short 47 year life.

Shevchenko was a European visionary of his time.

A political dissident, who has steadfastly lived through hardships of long-time imprisonment, he knew well and promoted the utmost value of human rights. He advanced equity and equality, freedom of speech and religion, right to unfettered enjoyment of cultural identity, freedom from slavery and tortures. His poetry is imbued with confidence that existence of a civilized state is impossible without fulfilment of basic human rights.

Against the current dramatic and challenging situation in Ukraine we remember and reaffirm commitment of Shevchenko to peace and friendship, partnership and brotherhood with all humans and peoples. These everlasting values are carved in the genetic code of the Ukrainian nation.

His ideal was a community of free and prosperous European peoples founded on the values of partnership and cooperation. Nowadays, such democratic community has been established by the peoples of Europe.

Recent events in Ukraine have manifested a momentous change in the destiny of our people and emergence of the genuinely European nation. Ukrainians from every region of the 45 million country proved that European values of liberty, democracy and solidarity are deeply engrained in their character.

The Kobzar’s testament now comes true and Ukrainians have ultimately succeeded to make a determined decision to become a full-fledged member of the family of free and prosperous European people, founded on democracy and so much needed today solidarity.

 

І мене в сем'ї великій,

В сем'ї вольній, новій,

Не забудьте пом'янути

Незлим тихим словом.

 

And in the great new family

The family of the free

With softly spoken, kindly word

Remember also me.

Finally, I would like to express our gratitude to the Office of the United Nations at Geneva, in particular the Cultural Programme, for their efforts and support to make today’s event in Palais des Nations possible.

Please, enjoy the exhibition.

I thank you.

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