Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank with its project on Sustainable Development Goals “Green Volunteer School: 17 SDGs” reached the final of the Green Gown Awards-2020 competition in the nomination “Student Involvement”. The winners will be announced on July 8, 2020 during the UN High Level Policy Forum on Sustainable Development.
The project “School of Green Volunteer” is implemented by the resource center Green Office BSPU. The centre’s coordinators together with university students discuss principles and ways of achieving Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of education for sustainable development.
The Green Gown Awards competition is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme. The aim of the contest is to popularize initiatives and find leaders in the field of sustainable development, strengthen cooperation between educational institutions, business, government agencies and public organizations. Projects of finalists in various categories can be found in the brochure Green Gown Awards-2020.
Continuing the joint activities of the National Coordinator for the SDGs achievement and the UN in support of the country’s health care institutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the request of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus 6,900 pieces of nasal adult cannulas for treatment of patients with coronavirus infection were purchased and transferred to health care organizations.
This assistance was provided with funds from the international technical assistance project “Supporting the Functioning of the Architecture for Managing the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in Belarus” funded by UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA in Belarus and implemented under the coordination of the National Coordinator for the SDGs achievement and in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
The competition “Sun Energy for Green Schools” has started in Belarus. During the contest 7 green schools will be chosen – one in each region and in Minsk. They will install solar panels as well as special lighting and storage equipment to demonstrate the use of sun energy to schoolchildren.
The project aims to show students the benefits of energy from renewable sources and the possibility of its use in everyday life, to make available environmental information, to form a caring attitude to natural resources and help solve local environmental problems. The project contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education), 7 (Low Cost and Clean Energy), 9 (Innovation, Industrialization and Infrastructure), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Combating Climate Change), 17 (Partnership for Sustainable Development).
This environmental project is an excellent example of partnership between business, government agencies and international organizations; it is implemented by A1 company in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations Development Programme in the Republic of Belarus. The competition regulations can be found here.
Green Schools is an educational project aimed at forming a caring attitude to nature among schoolchildren, increasing the environmental orientation of education, informing young people about environmental issues. In Belarus, 50 educational institutions have a special green school certificate.
Representatives of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of the Republic of Belarus, Grodno City Executive Committee and other organizations took part in a webinar organized by the Secretariat of the UNECE Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Land Management on the development of a sustainable and smart city profile.
The webinar participants discussed the goals, objectives and next steps to develop a sustainable and smart city profile. As part of these activities, projects and initiatives undertaken in cities to meet the Sustainable Development Goals are planned to be presented at the UNECE site, which will provide local authorities with recommendations for priority projects.
UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus Ioana Kazana-Wisniowiecki, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals Anatoli Isachanka, UNDP Resident Representative Alexandra Solovieva and UNFPA Office Manager in Belarus Olga Atroshchanka symbolically handed over the first batch of modern infrared contactless thermometers to the Clinical Maternity Hospital of Minsk Region as part of the coronavirus response.
Non-contact thermometers measure temperature in 30 seconds, reducing the number of physical contacts between doctors and patients. This simplifies the procedure and helps to reduce virus transmission, which is especially important when working with small children and children with special developmental needs.
The thermometers purchased under the joint project will be distributed to maternity hospitals in Minsk region, baby houses and boarding schools for children with disabilities in all regions of Belarus.
This assistance was provided with the funds of the international technical assistance project “Supporting the Functioning of the Architecture for Sustainable Development Goals Management in the Republic of Belarus” financed by UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA in Belarus and implemented under the coordination of the National Coordinator for the achievement of the SDGs, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and in line with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5, 10 and others.
Anatoly Isachanka, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals, discussed with Ioana Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, and members of the UN Country Team in Belarus the prospects for further cooperation on implementation of the SDGs in Belarus.
The videoconference participants discussed project proposals to support the efforts of Belarus in the nationalization and localization of the SDGs, prepared by UN agencies in Belarus together with interested government authorities. The main results of these proposals are support to the national architecture for managing the SDGs achieving process, improved collection and processing of statistical data on SDGs indicators, SDGs localization and other important issues for Belarus.
Ioana Kazana-Wisniowiecki noted that the joint projects implemented in Belarus are a unique example of cooperation in the area of supporting the architecture for achieving the SDGs at the national level, and the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus, Alexandra Solovieva, confirmed that the results of achieving the SDGs in Belarus are tangible, significant and positively assessed by the international community, while new joint projects will respond to the needs that have arisen due to the current epidemiological situation in the country.
Anatoly Isachanka also noted that the fundamental document in the sphere of SDGs nationalization – the draft National Sustainable Development Strategy of Belarus until 2035 – is currently being finalized in connection with the new challenges currently existing in the world, in particular, with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus has held a videoconference devoted to development of uniform approaches to the smart city concept. Representatives of JSC “Giprosvyaz”, RUE “Beltelecom”, RUE “Belpochta”, SNU “United Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus” and local executive and administrative bodies of the cities (districts) of Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Borisov, Lida, Mozyr, Molodechno, Novopolotsk, Orsha, Pinsk, Polotsk, and Soligorsk took part in the videoconference. These cities (districts) with the population of more than 80 thousand people have been identified as potential centers of economic growth, in which complex plans on development and implementation of the smart city concept (adaptation of the standard solution) will be implemented.
Native Nature Week, which will be held from 22 to 29 May 2020, is dedicated to the International Day for Biological Diversity. Online activities for Native Nature Week aim to highlight the importance of conserving terrestrial ecosystems and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15.
Native Nature Week is organized by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, which provides scientific support for activities aimed at conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 15.
Information on Native Nature Week activities can be found at the National Academy of Sciences website.
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