MINSK, 2 July (BelTA) – Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova met with members of the Youth Parliament under the aegis of the National Assembly of Belarus on 2 July. The speaker of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament discussed the current situation in the country with the young people, BelTA has learned.
The Youth Parliament is made up of 70 people aged 18-31, who represent all the oblasts and the city of Minsk. On 2 July they elected members of the council and chairpersons of the commissions similarly to chambers of the National Assembly. During the meeting Natalya Kochanova wished every success to the young people and promised all kinds of support on the part of the parliament. “We will do everything we can in order to let you feel as much satisfaction with this work as possible as you gain more experience,” she told the young colleagues.
The speaker reminded that youth is one of the priorities of the Belarusian social and economic policy. “Everything relating to the country's future is connected to young people,” she stressed. The council is made up of people with significant accomplishments in their professional lives or student lives despite their young age. Moreover, they would like to be useful for the society, demonstrate a serious civil stance, this is why they were noticed and elected to the Youth Parliament. “For them it will be a good school. For us it will be feedback from work with youth,” Natalya Kochanova told reporters.
The National Assembly intends to maintain tight cooperation with the Youth Council. “Such a connection between parliamentarians and young Belarusians is very important for us. We would like to know what young people are interested in or concerned about. As we make our decisions, we will clearly understand what needs to be done in our work with young people,” the head of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament was convinced.
The format of cooperation will vary. Thus, young people will be invited to attend a session of the parliament. “We will definitely invite our colleagues from the Youth Council to offsite sessions of parliamentary commissions in the regions,” Natalya Kochanova added.
The senator noted she was grateful to young people for the active discussion and versatile questions. Members of the Youth Parliament know the situation in the country well, they are not indifferent to what is going on. Thus, the young parliamentarians wondered about Natalya Kochanova's opinion about Belarus' information space. They asked what qualities are important for a young politician. Ideas and proposals were also put forward. For instance, it was noted that university students should not do internship only in cities and towns. Participants of the meeting assumed it would help future graduates to get familiar with the countryside and that they would be more willing to accept mandatory post-graduation jobs in the regions. The speaker approved of the idea. Natalya Kochanova said she would discuss prospects of its implementation with the education minister.
