Bologna Book Fair honors Ukrainian project supporting refugee children with prestigious award

The Better Time Stories project, developed by Ukrainians, won a special award in the "Books and digital platforms" category at the 2024 BolognaRagazzi CrossMedia Awards.

The press service of the Ukrainian Institute of Books reports this.

The Better Time Stories interactive platform was presented at the Bologna Book Fair's national stand for children's books this year.

"I am amazed that Better Time Stories was selected for the CrossMedia Awards 2024, especially in the category "Books and digital platform." This means that we are doing an important thing that is relevant not only for Ukraine but also for the international publishing market. Nowadays, people want not only to read a physical book but also to listen to it, especially when it comes to children's books. The Bologna award provides valuable assistance in communicating with foreign publishing companies," the project's co-founder, Andriy Shmyhelskyi, shared.

^{Andrii Shmyhelskyi is the co-founder of the Better Time Stories project. Photo: Maria Kobyuk}

Better Time Stories is a non-profit initiative to support Ukrainian children who were forced to leave their homes because of the war.

Interactive books are designed for children between the ages of 3 and 7 and feature the option to record audio versions of stories from family members living in Ukraine. In addition to the printed book, the family receives an app that allows them to listen to the recorded stories.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of Books, the initiative helps children overcome grief, integrate into the environment of the host country, and maintain contact with relatives who stay at home.

The patrons of the project were:

• Princess of the Netherlands Laurentien van Oranje,
• First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska,
• First Lady of Germany Elke Büdenbender,
• First Lady of Austria Doris Schmidauer.

An international jury awards the BolognaRagazzi CrossMedia Awards. Experts evaluate more than 100 projects from 30 countries every year.

The award, which is presented for the fourth time, consists of two categories:

• "Cross-media projects",
• "Digital reading experience".
• Special honors may also be awarded.

The goal of this project is to recognize the top publishing endeavors that have extended their narrative realm through various forms, such as movies, television series, video games, apps, and other interactive solutions. In addition, recognition will be given to projects that have been adapted into printed books.

^{Ukrainian national stand at the Bologna Book Fair. Photo: Ukrainian Book Institute}

For reference:

The Bologna Children's Book Fair is a leading event in the book publishing industry, founded in 1964. Since then, the fair has become a creative hub for publishers, illustrators, designers, translators, librarians, and other representatives of the publishing business.

Thanks to the exchange of experiences, children's editions are spreading worldwide, and trends in book design and positioning are being formed.

More than 1,400 participants from over 90 countries took part in the 2023 exhibition.

As reported by Rubryka, the largest international children's book fair began in Bologna, Italy, on Monday, April 8. Twenty publishing houses, including the Chernivtsi children's publishing house Black Sheep, will represent Ukraine at the fair.

This year, the Bologna Book Fair will run from April 8 to 11.