Ark I: The workplace is already in Kiev preparing for the mission
The Ark I project, which together withother partners, is supported by the KKFF Foundation and theMND, mhas alreadymore milesmiller. At the end of January, theNoJanuary was the last day of work.tionedon the preservation of the.rare printsbooks, books, archivalarchival documentsand otherother holdingslibraries, official.ppresented inKievě. This was done at a pressconference for the with the participation of Mr.Director ofů of the leadingof Ukrainianof Ukrainian culturalUkrainian cultural institutionsí. The mobile unit is now preparing for its upcoming mission.
In addition to the Foundation and MND, the project, which aims to protect Ukrainian cultural heritage from Russian war aggression, also involves the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Yaroslav Mudry National Library in Kiev. The workplace was also established thanks to the support of other donors, namely Libor Winkler and his friends.
"The preservation of culture in times of war plays a key role both in preserving a nation's identity and in sustaining its hopes for reconstruction. Because of the provision of essential humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, national budgets and the financial capacity of non-profit organizations are already stretched. Therefore, at this time, it is necessary to look for new ways to protect Ukraine's cultural heritage. One of them is a public-private partnership, which is how the Ark project came into being. It helps to mitigate the losses Ukraine has suffered in the field of culture, while serving as a model for cultural protection on a global scale," noted Karel Komarek, founder of KKFF.
The mobile unit was officially completed in December 2024, when it arrived at the premises of the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague's Hostivař. After the necessary preparation, which lasted less than a month, the container filled with special equipment set off for Kiev. In the premises in front of the Yaroslav Mudry National Library, the participants of the press conference had the opportunity to see the workplace in detail from the inside.
An important part of Ark I's future work is the training of Ukrainian library staff. Their colleagues from the Czech Republic are gradually passing on their experience in the field of book conservation.
"We have developed a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of this mobile unit. However, given the current security situation in our country, we must maintain strict confidentiality regarding specific destinations and operations in order to protect both our irreplaceable cultural heritage and the professionals working with this equipment. The partnership with the National Library of the Czech Republic is not just a matter of providing equipment. It includes specialized online training, professional development, and remote and on-site collaboration. As a province-wide methodological center for public libraries, we coordinate the project on a national level. Thus, this project concerns not only our library, but the entire Ukrainian library community," noted Oleh Serbin, Director General of the Yaroslav Mudry National Library in Kiev.
Ark III
Ark I is not the only initiative of the Karel Komarek Family Foundation in the field of protecting Ukrainian culture from Russian aggression. Together with the National Museum and the Kyiv-Pechersk State Historical and Cultural Reserve, the Foundation also supports the Ark III project. The latter extends the original plan to include a 3D scanning workstation. The main goal is to create a mobile digitizing station for 3D scanning of valuable historical and cultural objects. A transporter with a crew of three will be able to move operationally throughout Ukraine.
Lukas Pfauser
Karel Komarek Family Foundation
Other articles
Archaeologists have discovered more rich graves from the time of the Migration of Nations at the site of our photovoltaic power plant
As in the previous year, archaeological research of a large skeletal burial site from the time of the Migration of Nations (6th century AD) in the locality of Mušov - Roviny under the Pálavské vrchy Mountains, which is carried out with the support of MND by the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, continues this year.
MND supports the renovation of the University of Ivano-Frankivsk and offers scholarships to students
One million hryvnias and a scholarship programme for students will be provided by MND's Ukrainian subsidiary Horyzonty to the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas (IFNTUOG). The school was the target of a Russian missile attack in June this year and the campus was badly damaged.
We are increasing the installed capacity. Oriv wind farm in Ukraine is operational
The MND Group has entered a new phase in the renewable energy sector. In cooperation with our Ukrainian partner Zinoviy Kozytsky, whose company played a key role in the construction and completion of the ORIV joint wind farm project in the Lviv region, the supply of green energy to the Ukrainian grid officially started in February 2024. Ten state-of-the-art NORDEX wind turbines, type Delta 4000 - n149/5.4-5.5, with a capacity of 54.6 MW, are currently being prepared to increase the wind farm's capacity to 60 MW.