October 27, Ukraine will mark the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language.
Our language survived centuries of deliberate bans — the Valuev Circular and the Ems Decree — through which the empire tried to erase the very word “Ukrainian.” These attempts continue today, culturally and with weapons. That is why every word written and spoken in Ukrainian is also a form of resistance.
Alongside this holiday, the Radio Dictation of National Unity arrives every year, bringing together hundreds of thousands of people across Ukraine and dozens of countries around the world. This year it begins at 11:00, and will be broadcast on Ukrainian Radio, Radio Kultura, the Ukrainian Radio YouTube channel, Suspilne Kultura, and the suspilne.radio and Diia apps.
The text was written by author and veteran of the russian-Ukrainian war Artur Dron, known for the collection “We Were Here” and the prose book “Hemingway Knows Nothing.” For the first time in the dictation’s history, the text will be read by a duo: volunteer and public figure Dasha Astafieva and Ukrainian language teacher Artur Proydakov. During the dictation, fundraising will also continue for the “Dronopad” project by the “Come Back Alive” foundation.
The Radio Dictation is not about grades or commas. It is about the feeling that you are not alone: on that same day, thousands of people pick up a sheet of paper and write the same words in Ukrainian, from different cities and countries. That is what turns an ordinary dictation into something more.
So on October 27 at 11:00, pick up a sheet of paper and join in. Every word written in Ukrainian that day is that same resistance.