MINSK, 25 September (BelTA) – The 8th Belarusian-Russian youth forum demonstrates the unity of young people of the Belarus-Russia Union State, First Deputy Education Minister Irina Starovoitova said during the official opening of the first stage of the forum, BelTA has learned.
“Sustainable development of any state largely depends on how the young generation supports the strategic, economic and political course. The forum is an opportunity to demonstrate the unity of young people of the Union State. This is the unity of people who strive for cooperation and mutual understanding, who wish to show how important the peace, public stability and civil accord are. Disunity and enmity generate aggression and fear of the future. When there are political, economic, information and military threats in the modern world, such meetings play a special role in strengthening trust between the peoples,” Irina Starovoitova said.
According to her, the Union State is interested in young people as the most active social resource in society. “Young people are given wide social guarantees, equal rights and opportunities for education. Many cultural, educational and research projects have been implemented and youth public associations have been actively cooperating,” the first deputy minister said.
“The forum is dedicated to an important theme, which is the preservation of historical memory. The forum is held on the year of the 75th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. We have a shared victory and history. It is important to preserve it in the people's memory, in the undistorted history which needs to be passed down to the next generation. This is the basis of peace and stability. The youth of the Union State have collected hundreds of recollections of war veterans and witnesses, set up themed internet portals, made family presentations and biographic essays, launched large-scale work on the reconstruction of memorials and graves of soldiers. Besides, there have been made a variety of shows, dozens of books on the war, and sci-tech conferences,” Irina Starovoitova said.
According to Chairman of the Youth Chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Aleksandr Lukyanov, the international historical and cultural project Digital Star has been launched to mark the date. “On this internet portal, users can replenish the interactive map of monuments, tell about their region, the heroes who defended the country at that difficult time. Over the period of six months, over 360 memorial places from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad have been digitized with the participation of 1,500 young people. Over 60% of the digitized places are located in Belarus. The project will be continued as it is drawing a huge interest from the society,” he said.
The first stage of the 8th Belarusian-Russian youth forum took place in the format of a video conference on 25 September. The forum is part of the 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia. The forum brought together 60 people: 30 from each side. The solemn opening ceremony was attended by the BRSM leaders, the National Council for Children and Youth Associations of Russia, representatives of the Belarusian Education Ministry and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, the Council of the Republic and the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs.
The Belarusian-Russian youth forum has been held since 2013 at the initiative of the BRSM Youth Union and the National Council for Children and Youth Associations of Russia.
Photos by Ramil Nasibulin
