On November 14, 2023, representatives of the Reading Promotion Program for the Lithuanian Diaspora, run by the National Library of Lithuania in cooperation with the Lithuanian Institute of Literature and Folklore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, the World Lithuanian Community and the Lithuanian Publishers Association, visited Peterborough Central Library, United Kingdom.
During the event, over thirty Lithuanian books were gifted to the Library, a lecture “Lithuanian Literary Fugue” was presented, and excerpts from Lithuanian authors were read in Lithuanian and English. Julie Spence, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of the County of Cambridgeshire, Nick Sandford, Mayor of Peterborough, Virginija Umbrasienė, Minister at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in London, Kitran Eastman, CEO of Peterborough Ltd., and Dr. Jolanta Budriūnienė, Director of the Documentary Heritage Research Department of the National Library of Lithuania, attended the event. The guests praised Lithuania’s gift to the local Lithuanian community. His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire particularly welcomed the fact that some of the books coming to Peterborough are translations into English, noting that these books will give a better insight into Lithuanian culture, history and people, as well as the large and active Lithuanian community living in Peterborough.
On November 28, 2023, the Reading Promotion Program event took place in Paris, at the Institut National des Langues et Cultures Orientales (INALCO). The participants were welcomed by Prof. Hélène de Penanros, Head of INALCO Lithuanian Language Section, Austė Zdančiūtė, Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Lithuania in France, and Dr. Jolanta Budriūnienė, Director of the Documentary Heritage Research Department of the National Library of Lithuania. Dr. Dainius Vaitiekūnas, Head of the Lithuanian Studies Unit of the National Library of Lithuania, gave a talk on Lithuanian literature to the large gathering of Lithuanian language students and members of the Lithuanian community in Paris. The audience also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest Lithuanian fiction books. The lecture also focused on translations of Lithuanian literature into French.