MINSK, 15 December (BelTA) – Participants of the 8th edition of the Belarusian-Russian Youth Forum have taken part in the new Belarusian patriotic project “Memory of the Heart”, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Belarusian BRSM Youth Union Aleksandra Goncharova told BelTA.
“The final part of the 8th Belarusian-Russian Youth Forum is underway today. The participants of the forum laid flowers at the Minsk Hero City Memorial to the sounds of the orchestra of the Minsk Military Commandant's Office. They formed the words ‘Memory of the Heart' [in Russian] with lamps on the steps of the monument and observed a minute of silence to honor the memory of the fallen. The event continued with the roundtable to discuss the preservation of the historical memory and an excursion to the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War. The forum will wrap up with a meeting with members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus,” Aleksandra Goncharova said.
The youth forum is running in Minsk on 12-15 December. One the of the key events of the first day of the forum was the meeting with Belarusian Education Minister Igor Karpenko, Russian Science and Higher Education Minister Valery Falkov, Chairman of the Belarusian State Committee on Science and Technology Aleksandr Shumilin, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev.
“The dialogue was open. The participants discussed important issues they are concerned about and received support from government agencies. Collective work in the course of breakout sessions and an ‘open mic" with ministers and guests of honor of the forum were reflected in the proposals for further cooperation. Yesterday, young people visited the All Saints Church, went to see the crypt, the Museum of Remembrance, the White Hall,” Aleksandra Goncharova noted.
The forum is one of the key bilateral youth events, Aleksandra Goncharova said. "Young people of Belarus and Russia share their experience of implementing projects in various areas, lobby new current ideas and projects. The youth organizations sign cooperation agreements and implement projects in the context of the Union State with the direct support of the two ministries," she concluded.
The Belarusian-Russian Youth Forum has been held since 2013 on the initiative of the Belarusian BRSM Youth Union and the National Council of Youth and Children's Associations of Russia. The main goal of the joint project is to develop cooperation between youth organizations and students of the two countries. The forum received a new impetus and status in 2017 when it was first included in the official program of the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia.
Photos courtesy of the BRSM
