The “eSupport” program, initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, is designed to stimulate the recovery and development of the Ukrainian book industry. During discussion with the participation of the First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyridenko and the Minister of Culture Mykola Tochytsky with representatives of publishing houses, new opportunities for Ukrainian book publishing were outlined.
Yulia Svyridenko noted that the book publishing industry was significantly affected by the war due to the loss of printing facilities, for example, the destruction of the Kharkiv publishing house “Faktor-Druk”, the temporary occupation of some regions and limited access to finance. In response, the government implements a number of initiatives to support Ukrainian publishers. Yes, the “National Cashback” program already allows you to receive 10% compensation when buying Ukrainian books. In addition, in December, Ukrainians will be allocated 1,000 hryvnias of social support, which can be used to pay for utilities, donate to the armed forces, or buy books.
Today, more than 12,500 Ukrainian books are already included in the “National Cashback” program, and bookstores are actively joining it. According to Svyridenko, cashback will be an additional incentive for citizens to support domestic book publishers.
Mykola Tochytskyi also reported that within the framework of new legislative changes signed by the President on May 17, 18-year-old Ukrainians will be able to receive a certificate for 900 hryvnias to buy Ukrainian books. The law provides for government subsidies for bookstores to help cover rental costs.
Book publishers, in particular Oleksandr Krasovytskyi, head of the Folio publishing house, and at. the president of the Public Union “Ukrainian Association of Publishers and Book Distributors”, confirmed that the “eSupport” program from 2021 had a significant positive impact: from December 2021 to February 2022, 1.2 billion hryvnias were spent on books, which helped the industry to withstand the beginning of the war .
“The support at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 gave the book publishing house the strength to recover from the pandemic. It is fantastic that Ukrainians then chose Ukrainian books as one of the main categories for spending 1,000 hryvnias. Thanks to this program, the industry prepared for a full-scale invasion, and in the first half of the year publishers survived thanks to the accumulated funds“, Krasovytskyi concluded.
