Royal Museums of Fine Arts launch first Belgian audio guides in Ukrainian

Belgium's first Ukrainian-language audio guides have been officially launched on Friday during a ceremony at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) in Brussels. The initiative is part of a project led by the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, which already led to 80 audio tours in Ukrainian in 44 countries.

“The time has come to make the exhibitions at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts more accessible for Ukrainian visitors thanks to these audio guides,” stated Olena Zelenska.

Since 2020, the wife of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been spearheading the project to create audio guides in Ukrainian in the world's biggest museums. Among the other participating museums are the Louvre in France, Westminster Abbey in the UK, the Colosseum and the Borghese Gallery in Italy and the Albertina Palace in Austria.

Pointing to the rich cultural dialogue currently taking place between Ukraine and Belgium, the first lady stressed the importance for her country of “addressing the world at a time when Ukraine is still fighting against invasion, and when the Russian invader is destroying our museums”. “But it's also important for the world in general, because the more languages are spoken, the more accessible art becomes,” she declared.

^{Woman using an audio guide at a museum © BELGA PHOTO AFP-ARCHIVE}