Printed version of the magazine "Little Bee" We are TEMPORARILY discontinuing! All printed copies will be donated to boarding schools.
Yesterday afternoon, my phone was ringing off the hook with calls from school principals, elementary school vice principals, and teachers who have been collaborating with the educational and entertaining magazine for more than 16 years (or, more accurately, less 4 months 17) "Little Bee".
Subject of conversation: schools received a letter signed by the Director of the Educational Institution "OCPRPR" requesting information on the use of educational materials – printed materials published in a non-state language during classes or independent study.
It turns out that in mid-October, a complaint was received from a parent, registered under number VO-2661 dated 18.10.2021 in the office of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language.
The essence of the complaint – is the distribution of a Russian-language publication in Ukrainian schools, thereby violating children's rights to receive information in the state language.
I declare that the materials in the magazine "Little Bee" are not taught in school. It is not considered educational material, but rather an entertaining and educational publication. It is not mandatory for those who want to read and speak the state language.
Children purchase magazines for charitable purposes, and only with the permission of their parents, who are not bothered by the fact that the material is printed in Russian.
The magazine features children's letters about their achievements in sports and pets, as well as various educational and developmental materials, including articles on the history of Odessa.
The "Pchelka" also features works by Ukrainian authors, many of whom are members of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
The magazine features drawings by children whose teachers are members of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
The magazine places a strong emphasis on ecology and respect for nature, and hosts various competitions on this topic. Each issue provides children with information about various animals, including those native to our country.
Articles about different countries and great human inventions help broaden children's horizons.
For some, the pages of the magazine are their first art exhibition, while others are trying their hand at writing for the first time. And the language doesn't matter, because it's their first attempt to discover and realize themselves, to take a step toward a possible career. This is also facilitated by stories and encounters with people of various professions.
Dozens of authors from various cities and even countries submit interesting and educational articles for the magazine's readers. Material submitted by parents, teachers, and authors of articles in Ukrainian is published without translation.
The complainant deprived 3300 young readers of the magazine in December. Today, 8 December, young readers could have received the eagerly awaited new issue. We will definitely deliver gifts to the winners of the magazine's contests. We will donate the magazines to boarding schools and children's hospitals. Let the children have joy.
Thank you to everyone who supports the foundation's projects "Little Bee", participates in various campaigns, and saves the lives of seriously ill children. I hope our future collaboration will continue.
We are TEMPORARILY discontinuing publication of the magazine. I am NOT READY to completely translate the magazine into Ukrainian. I don't like injustice, not to mention it. And no one will force me to do something that's absurd. I'm not against the Ukrainian language, I'm against categorical bans. They don't want to take the opinions of the Russian-speaking population into account, and I see no point in tilting at windmills.
I love inventing and implementing interesting projects. We'll continue to do so.
And yes, anyone who writes complaints to various authorities, blaming everyone and everything, probably doesn't realize that, first and foremost, you're depriving children of joy!
Pavlenko E.V.
