Lithuania’s present for Ghowr – first public library in the province
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The ribbon at the door of the new library established in the Department of Culture and Information HQ was cut on Sunday, when Afghans celebrate the Beginning of New School Year. Provincial Government assigned four rooms in a newly built headquarters for the library – two for reading-rooms and two for book storage. Lithuanian Special Mission provided furniture, computer equipment and over 2.6 thousand books in Dari and Pushtun languages – from religious works to contemporary dictionaries, from Old Persian poetry to literature for children. Culture and Information Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan compiled reading-list on request of Lithuanian representatives. In the opening ceremony Vice-Minister of Culture and Information of Afghanistan Najibullah Manalai said that Lithuanian Special Mission broke the record of books bought in Chaghcharan bookstores in two days. The number of books donated by Lithuanian Special Mission and Chaghcharan’s men of education exceed four thousand. The library is now among the biggest libraries of Afghanistan provinces. Efforts of Lithuania in promoting education and culture where appreciated by the Council of Ghowr Governor, Culture Department and local people. As one of reporters of the province Hassamudin put it in the ceremony, Lithuanian input into the culture of Afghanistan was welcomed and library established in Chaghcharan really made it heart of the province. Lithuania devotes significant attention to culture in its area of responsibility Ghowr. Lithuanian-led archaeological expedition of Dr. Aleksejus Luchtanas will be continued in Ghowr in April-May. Last autumn Lithuanian archaeologists and Afghan experts of cultural heritage and archaeology found 14 unknown heritage objects in the area surrounding Chaghcharan. Those were ancient settlements, remains of fortifications, and other monuments of history and archaeology. This year expedition supported by Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Ministry will continue searching for and registering objects of cultural heritage. Besides scientific discoveries such expeditions provide data for Afghan cultural and scientific institutions and help Afghan specialists develop new skills. Picture – Head of Lithuanian Special Mission Aleksandras Matonis at the opening ceremony. |
Lithuania has opened the first public library in Chaghcharan, capital of Ghowr. 