Today at 12:03
During a working visit to the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena visited Mount Vernon, the estate of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington.
The first lady announced the launch of a Ukrainian-language audio guide here – the 31st within her project, writes UA with reference to the President’s Office.
Ukrainian has become the sixth foreign language to be spoken in Mount Vernon with the initiative of Olena Zelenska.
The estate consists of historic buildings, plantations and gardens. It is surrounded by many tourist routes and viewing platforms. One of the main buildings is a museum and an educational center. There you can see weapons, clothes, household items of the first president of the United States. Also there is the Fred W. Smith National Library, which studies the life of George Washington. Now the estate belongs to the United States Women’s Union, which was created by Anna Pamela Cunningham more than 150 years ago to preserve the heritage of the estate.
“I am glad that the boundaries of the Ukrainian cultural diplomacy project are widening, the international network of audio guides is growing and finally we are represented in the United States. This is the first time this happens on another continent and at an iconic institution – Mount Vernon Estate. Today, it is especially important to establish relations between countries through culture, diplomacy and “soft power” of which we hear and speak so much now”, said Olena Zelenska.
The President of Ukraine, together with the First Lady, presenting the Ukrainian-language audio guide, noted that he supports this initiative with all his heart and soul.
“I know how Ukrainians speak about this, how they like it when Ukrainian-language audio guides appear in Europe, in other parts of the world. And now we have the first audio guide in the United States of America”, said the head of state.
Olena Zelenska also told about the connection of the first US president with modern Ukraine. The embassy is now located in the Forrest-Marbury house. There, in 1791, George Washington signed an agreement on the transfer of land to the government for the foundation of the country’s capital – the city of Washington.
The network of Ukrainian-language audio guides is part of a cultural diplomacy project implemented by the first lady of Ukraine. Its main goal is to spread the Ukrainian language and strengthen the country’s image in the international arena.
The Ukrainian-language audio guides are working in the Tower of London, Versailles, Albertina Gallery, Dolmabahce Palace, Vaza Museum and other leading institutions of the world.
To remind, the Ukrainian-language audio guide was launched at the Barcelona Museum.
Read also: The first audio guide in Ukrainian was launched in Greece
