VITEBSK, 24 May (BelTA) – The sustainable development capacity of Vitebsk Oblast was praised by experts as the highest among Belarusian regions, head of the EU/UNDP project Support to Local Development in the Republic of Belarus Lyudmila Sokolovskaya said at the meeting in the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
The project has been running at the regional level since 2014 and envisages cooperation of authorities, business and the local community. The project is estimated at €5.4 million. “We have already implemented the first competition of local initiatives that united more than 700 applications from around the country. 16 initiatives from Vitebsk Oblast got the financial support of about €200,000. We even selected five pilot regions from every oblast to continue cooperation with. They will take part in the main competition of local initiatives. However, two independent research studies showed that the potential of Vitebsk Oblast is higher than any other region of Belarus,” noted Lyudmila Sokolovskaya.
Initiative groups of citizens, representatives of the local authorities, business and non-for-profit organizations are set up in all pilot regions. They determine development priorities for their territories. This will make the basis for the area-based development passport for every pilot region. “In Vitebsk Oblast the majority of initiatives support the development of agro ecotourism, the social and cultural sector. There are fewer proposals with economic elements,” Lyudmila Sokolovskaya added.
On 24 May the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee hosted the roundtable session “Sustainable Regional Development: EU Best Practices”. The meeting focused on the preliminary results of the implementation of two projects, components of the program “Support to Regional and Local Development in Belarus” financed by the European Union. The first, same-name project, has already been completed. The second, Support to Local Development in the Republic of Belarus, is entering its active implementation phase.
