Mission and aims

As part of the Belarusian community in the United Kingdom, the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum:

  • preserves the cultural heritage of the Belarusian people;
  • contributes to the life of this community by providing access to cultural artefacts in a variety of forms and media;
  • supports and promotes academic Belarusian studies;
  • encourages interest in Belarus among the British public.

We aim to:

  • Collect and preserve significant publications in various formats and languages reflecting Belarusian history and culture;
  • Encourage and assist with preservation of the Belarusian Diaspora’s archives, publications and artefacts;
  • Develop the Museum collection;
  • Enable access to Belarusian literature, language and other aspects of the cultural heritage to all compatriots living in London and further afield;
  • Collaborate with other Belarusian organisations and initiatives for enriching their work and projects;
  • Maintain a reference collection for supporting and encouraging academic Belarusian studies in the UK and abroad;
  • Provide facilities for accessing Belarus-related materials of interest to researchers and students;
  • Contribute to the work of Belarusian and other related academic organisations and initiatives in the UK, Belarus and abroad;
  • Contribute to projects and events promoting Belarus in the UK;
  • Contribute to the body of knowledge about Belarus in the English-speaking world.