MINSK, 14 November (BelTA) – Traditional family examples must be constantly propagated in the society to increase the importance and value of this institution, Belarus' Labor and Social Security Minister Irina Kostevich said on the sidelines of the Sanctity of Motherhood forum which is running in Minsk on 14-15 November, BelTA has learned.
“We need to talk more about the importance of the family. The family is the basis of any society. Our country has been taking great efforts to enhance the prestige of the traditional family, its values, support families with children,” said Irina Kostevich. “We see the ongoing transformation of family values in the world. Therefore, our main task is to support and strengthen the institution of family. The policy in this area is versatile,” the minister said.
Irina Kostevich cited numbers to support her words. For example, 2% of the country's GDP is spent to finance benefits for families with children. A number of regulations guarantee the repayment of part or the whole amount of debt on loans for large families. “In accordance with the labor laws, a mother of three and more children is entitled to one paid day off,” the minister added.
As a result, Belarus ranks 25th among 179 states and first in the CIS on Mother's Index. But still there are problems, Irina Kostevich said. According to her, the most important thing today is to create a positive information environment where the family is positioned as a thing of great happiness and pride. “We need to show and promote this model of traditional Belarusian family: a registered marriage, both parents, three or more children, a prosperous family with a good psychological climate. This is a family that appreciates the generations of their ancestors,” Irina Kostevich noted.
The 6th forum called as Sanctity of Motherhood has brought together more than 500 participants from 11 countries, including Belarus, Russia, Serbia, the United States, China, Iran, Bulgaria, Israel and Poland to discuss the theme “Family in the modern world: importance, trends and prospects.
The event has been organized by the St Andrew the First-Called Foundation (Russia) together with the Karic brothers foundation (Serbia) with the support of the Minsk City Hall and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Belarus.
It is logical that the forum has expanded its boundaries and is held in Minsk this time, said Natalya Yakunina, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Sanctity of Motherhood program. “We hope that the exchange of experiences will help both our countries to do more for the sake of family and its prestige,” Natalia Yakunina said. Minsk Mayor Andrei Shorets confirmed that Minsk and Belarus in general have something to be proud of. Great resources are sent to support motherhood.
Deputy Chairperson of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia Olga Epifanova stressed that from the moment of birth the child is on radar of the state and receives necessary support. “We support all nonprofit community organizations that are socially-oriented and work in the field of family policy, said Olga Epifanova. “The Russian president has declared the Decade of Childhood. We have adopted a great number of laws to support the family, women, children, including those in difficult life situations. I think that Belarus also does a lot in this area. Therefore, the exchange of information is mutually beneficial to us,” she noted.
