The Cabinet of Ministers appointed Olena Ivanovska as Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language
During an open vote, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Olena Ivanovska to the position of Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. About this reported representative of the government in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk.
Olena Ivanovska is a doctor of philological sciences, professor and lecturer at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University. She works at the Department of Folklore Studies, where she teaches courses devoted to the folklore aspect of customary law, the methodology of teaching folklore, and the subject-figurative system of Ukrainian oral creativity.
Ivanovska’s scientific achievements include about 100 publications, including 17 scientific and methodological works, teaching aids, textbooks and educational programs. Some of her works are devoted to the topic of protection of the Ukrainian language. Her candidacy was submitted by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.
The official for the protection of the state language, or the language ombudsman, ensures compliance with the status of the Ukrainian language as the state language and protection of the rights of citizens to use it in all spheres of life. Its powers include monitoring the implementation of language legislation by authorities, considering complaints about its violation, drawing up administrative protocols and imposing fines. The ombudsman also conducts a dialogue with the authorities for the implementation of legislation and informs society about the importance of the Ukrainian language.
Since July 8, 2020, this position has been held by Taras Kremin, a politician and scientist, one of the co-authors of the law on the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language. The appointment of a new language ombudsman caused a stir among representatives of culture.
On June 19, an open appeal appeared on the “Language Policy Portal” calling for Taras Kremen to remain in office. The document was signed by writers Oksana Zabuzhko, Serhii Zhadan, Yuriy Andruhovych, Andriy Kurkov, Yaryna Chornoguz, actresses Ada Rogovtseva, Irma Vitovska, Natalya Sumska, Rimma Zyubina, head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov and other figures.
Kremin himself said in June that he considers the candidates submitted to the competition to be unfit for the position due to lack of experience in human rights activities and protection of the state language. Despite this, the government dismissed Taras Kremen on July 2 due to the end of his term of office. The decision entered into force on July 8.
