Aside from the obvious need for direct solidarity in such troubling times, the group also has in mind the growing need for Polish and Ukrainian citizens to learn new languages. In Poland alone there are currently 2 million Ukrainian refugees, many of them children, who will soon be attending Polish schools. By promoting the use of Cyrillic, 33 Letters is “lowering the barrier to learning a new alphabet by making it convenient and enjoyable”. Not only that, but it also plans to support Polish designers who want to familiarise themselves with it by giving them access to “workshops with Ukrainian type designers and calligraphers.”
Reflecting on the project’s impact, Alina says: “It has already united a small community of international followers, and we hope it will only keep growing… In this new reality, we need to find ways for effective (visual) communication, so we are starting with what we know and love: letters. For us, language is an important part of people’s identities, but it’s also a starting point of communication, and therefore connection.”