On January 27, the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine hosted an official presentation of the first mobile station for for the rescue and conservation of library collections – ARCHA1.

This event became possible through the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Library Association, the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech ICOM Committee, the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, and numerous donors.

The event was inaugurated by Galyna Grygorenko, First Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine; Jitka Neoralová, Head of Development and Research Laboratories at the National Library of the Czech Republic; Benjamín Žiga, Counselor and Head of the Political and Economic Department, and Deputy Ambassador; Oleg Serbin, General Director of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, and his deputy, Oksana Brui.

The event was also attended by representatives of the State Agency of Ukraine on Arts and Art Education.

The Director of the Scientific Library, Maryna Zhenchenko, and her deputy for information and methodological issues, Svitlana Kanevska, also joined this significant event.

This project aims to highlight the importance of international cooperation in preserving Ukraine’s cultural heritage during wartime.

ARCHA1 is a unique mobile complex specifically engineered for deployment in crisis situations. The station is equipped with modern technologies for rescuing, cleaning, disinfecting, drying, and restoring documents damaged by fire, flooding, or improper storage conditions. It can function autonomously, without relying on external power sources.

This Ukrainian-Czech initiative demonstrates that even in difficult times it is possible to join forces to preserve culture and heritage for future generations.