On September 7, 2019, the Science Festival was held on the territory of the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. An exhibition of scientific achievements was part of the program, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have taken a significant place. Acquaintance with them and their popularization among exhibition visitors is the main content of the interactive stand of the Education for Sustainable Development Association.
At the exhibition, the Association’s interactive stand worked under the name “Science Shop for Sustainable Development Goals”. What is a Science shop? This is a new activity for our country, helping people and local developing communities to find reasons for making informed decisions. In the activities of a Science shop the methodology of cooperation between researchers and society is “civil science”, which means joint research on mutually interesting issues and topics of localization and achievement of the SDGs.
The main idea and methods of the scientific shop’s work were presented by the employees of the Coordination Center “Education for Sustainable Development” of the Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University (BSPU). They talked about the experience of implementing this idea in the Republic of Belarus, which was obtained in the partnership of the Education for Sustainable Development Association, Belarusian State Pedagogical University and the non-profit organization Scientific Bonn (Germany) with the Berezovsky and Schuchinsky district executive committees, as well as the Zditovskaya secondary school of the Berezovsky district and the Shchuchin Gymnasium within the framework of the Belarusian-German project “Scientific Shop as a Tool for Integrating Educational Practices into Regional Sustainable Development Processes” (2017 — 2019).
Representatives of the Partnership Network of Sustainable Development Schools shared their experience in implementing methods of “civic science” and resources created for this purpose in local communities. More than 300 people took part in the events organized at the stand.
The board game “Know Your Goals” and the exhibition of the Helios Children’s Science Laboratory of the Resource Center for Integrated Support for ESD Practices of Gymnasium No. 19 in Minsk allowed young and adult exhibitors to plunge into the world of sustainable development. The workshops of the team of the Sustainable Development public association “Our Footprint” helped to determine the degree of eco-friendliness of their life and behavior (“ecological trail”, “waste management”, “the impact of transport on the environment”, etc.).
The same ideas were followed by the environmental team of the secondary school No. 4 of Dzerzhinsk, who presented the program “Be Lean!”. It unites the region’s eco-friendly families in the school’s activities.
The friendly team of students and teachers of Negorelsky secondary school No. 1 (Dzerzhinsky district) shared the experience of joint research work “School and the village together for sustainable development”. The school is a participant in the Teacher for Belarus program. Focusing on future generations, the schoolchildren, together with their parents, organized the DecorWoods business company and created the educational video “Children for Children. Talking simple about complex things”. Sergey Vasilevsky, a student of the XI class, presented computer games that help children and adults deepen their knowledge of the history and culture of Belarus.
Consultations of the student research laboratory “Educational Practices for Sustainable Development in Preschool Education Institutions” of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University Preschool Education Faculty showed parents how to explain to their children what sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals are. “Climate Workshop” was organized by representatives of the Ekamaisterni Cultural and Environmental Institution and helped to see how the processes of climate change and the related SDGs are manifesting in the life of each of us.
The final phase was the presentation of the student campaign “Eco-Bus routes: we localize the SDGs together!” of the Belarusian University of Culture and Arts. The inclusion of students in the processes of greening the lifestyle of both their own, the university, and the community is a promising component of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The organizers of the interactive stand of the Education for Sustainable Development Association were the Education for Sustainable Development Coordination Center of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University and the Inter-University Club of Friends of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The first Regional Forum on Sustainable Development “Mogilev Region – Territory of Sustainable Development” was held in Mogilev on June 28, 2019 as part of the Mill of Success International Investment Forum.
At the exhibition “Localization of Sustainable Development Goals – Successful Practices” projects aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the districts of the Mogilev region were presented.
The main focus of the Forum was the topic of strategic planning for sustainable development at the regional level. Representatives of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee presented the main provisions of the concept of the sustainable development strategy of the Mogilev region until 2035. The Mogilev region is the first of the regions of the Republic of Belarus that began to develop such a strategy and identified four priority areas for regional development: maintaining a favorable environment, creating a socially responsible society, developing high-tech and competitive industries and services, and improving the business environment.
The opening speech of the Forum was made by the Deputy Chairman of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee Ruslan Strakhar, National Coordinator for the Sustainable Development Goals, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Marianna Shchetkina (video message), UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Belarus Alexandra Solovyova, Executive Director of Dortmund International Education Center Astrid Deputy.
On June 25, 2019 the Forum “Relevant directions of gender policy in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals” was held in Minsk.
The forum was held to discuss the priorities of gender policy, taking into account the international experience and the national context of the Republic of Belarus, as well as contribution to the achievement of SDG 5 – “Ensuring gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls”. The proposals developed at the Forum will be used in the development of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Republic of Belarus for the period up to 2035 and the National Action Plan for Gender Equality in the Republic of Belarus for 2021-2025.
The forum included three thematic sessions. At the session “Balance of family and work: is it real in the modern world?” participants discussed the development of an infrastructure and social environment friendly to families with children, the corporate concept of “jobs friendly to parents” (Softeko LLC) and approaches to more active involvement of men in child care and housework (RBOO “Club Lvov”). At the session “Combating Domestic Violence” participants discussed the legal aspects of combating domestic violence, the practical assistance provided to the victims (MOO “Gender Perspectives”) and economic losses due to domestic violence in Belarus (Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus). The session “Women’s Employment and Entrepreneurship as a Driver for Achieving SDG 5 Gender Equality” presented the results of the study “Using Behavioral Techniques to Empower Women’s Economic Empowerment in Belarus”, which was carried out as part of the “Women in the Labor Market” initiative funded by The British Embassy in Minsk and implemented by the UN Development Program in the Republic of Belarus. Also within the framework of the Forum there was held the presentation of the project “Women’s Business”, implemented by the Belarusian Union of Women.
The forum was hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Republic of Belarus.
From August 14 to August 15, 2019, the Zubrenok National Children’s Education and Health Center hosted the Forum “Innovations of teenagers and youth to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, which brought together teenage leaders, representatives of teenage parliaments from cities friendly to children and teenagers, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) youth ambassadors. The large-scale event was held to honour the International Youth Day and the 50th anniversary of NCC “Zubrenok”.
The main objective of the Forum is to strengthen the potential of teenagers and youth, increase their knowledge and understanding of the SDGs, develop leadership skills to successfully achieve global goals and direct the creativity and energy of young people to modern challenges in the country, region and the world.
Teenagers aged 14–16 years worked in 17 teams with one of the SDGs throughout the Forum. The result for each team was the idea of a project aimed at achieving the corresponding Goal. Project ideas were heard by an expert panel, which included the National Coordinator for the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, the heads of UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA in Belarus, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
Here are the ideas the participants suggested:
SDG 1: FinGram mobile app to eliminate financial illiteracy among teenagers and youth, including an educational unit and a financial glider.
SDG 2: Children’s Volunteer Care Center to address the adverse social situation among children and teenagers, including free nutrition, medical and psychological assistance, specialized educational courses, and communication with other children and adolescents.
SDG 3: a social video (or a series of social videos) on teenagers’ loneliness as one of the potential causes of thoughts about suicide.
SDG 4: a prototype of a specialized class for developing effective communication skills among children and teenagers to solve the problem of lack of educational programs in communicative qualities in the framework of school education.
SDG 5: a campaign on social networks (using the hashtags #BE_YOURSELF #MY_CHOICE #BEMYSELF) to solve the problem of stereotypical ideas about the appearance and image of girls and guys.
SDG 6: prototype rainwater purification device (for rural and urban areas) and a mobile application with tips on using and installing such a device.
SDG 7: Challenge in social networks “Save energy in 30 days” (using the hashtags #safetheenergy #saveenergy) to inform the public about the problem of non-responsible energy use and to create eco-friendly habits.
SDG 8: Career guidance program “I want to work …” involving students to present their professions and organizing educational excursions to companies and organizations for more detailed acquaintance with a particular profession.
SDG 9: Econet project for exchanging recyclables for free mobile Internet traffic (waste paper / plastic collecting machines are equipped with a screen for issuing a QR code with the amount of free traffic earned, which can be obtained in a special application).
SDG 10: a series of educational activities to get acquainted with the cultures of other countries for more tolerant and inclusive behavior towards representatives of other countries and cultures (includes interviews, interactive quizzes, talk shows, days “on the contrary”, etc.).
SDG 11: prototype application for the effective organization of all necessary contacts and locations of government and other institutions in different categories: education, health, social services, etc., including a breakdown by city and age of users and users.
SDG 12: “sweetilizator” – an automatic machine for exchanging recyclables (primarily plastic) for rewards for children and teenagers (small chocolates).
SDG 13: Chloroferm – a prototype incubator for growing chlorella algae to purify indoor air in an urban environment.
SDG 14: talk shows on raising awareness and awareness among the population about negligent pollution of marine ecosystems.
SDG 15: agency for environmental advertising and developing brand positioning using eco-friendly principles in the production of packaging, souvenirs, etc.
SDG 16: A school legal support service for children and teenagers, including an education unit and mediation services.
SDG 17: an application to strengthen global partnerships, collaboration and the exchange of best practices among teenagers from different countries to achieve the SDGs in the format of a specialized social network.
To engage youth in achieving SDGs at the global level, there is the UN 2030 Youth Strategy. The strategy outlines priority areas designed to improve the lives of young people who are directly related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and one of the platforms to accelerate the achievement of SDGs in Belarus – focus on future generations. These directions are also reflected in the national strategic documents of Belarus. In the concept of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development for the period up to 2035, it was noted that young people play a special role in the national model of sustainable development, which is the engine of sustainable development in the long term.
The forum was held as part of the UNDP / UNICEF / UNFPA project “Supporting the functioning of the architecture for managing the process of the Sustainable Development Goals achievement in the Republic of Belarus” with the support of the National Coordinator for the Sustainable Development Goals Marianna Schetkina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
Forum presentations
Pavel Marinenko, Deputy Chairman of the Economics Committee of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee
Alexey Polovikov, Deputy Chairman of the Klichevsky District Executive Committee
Alexey Shadrakov, Head of the Mogilev Regional Center for Social and Economic Research of the State Scientific Institution Research Economic Institute of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus
Sergey Tarasyuk, Director of the International Fund for Rural Development territories
Moritz Schmidt, Project Scientific Leader and Team Leader for the RMS for Agenda 21 in North Rhine-Westphalia (LAG 21 NRW)
Kirill Stezhkin, UNDP Project Coordinator, Marina Kalinovskaya, UNDP project manager “Promotion of employment and self-employment in small and medium-sized cities of the Republic of Belarus”, Lyudmila Sokolovskaya, project manager of the EU-UNDP project “Supporting local economic development”.
Children’s magazine “Vyaselka” has issued a special edition dedicated to Sustainable Development Goals.
The special issue educates children about the Agenda-2030 and the essence of the Sustainable Development Goals through games, riddles, stories, poems, and illustrations. All content is provided in Belarusian language.
The magazine opens up with greetings from Marianna Shchotkina, the National Coordinator for the implementation of SDGs in Belarus, Ioanna Kazana-Wisniowieckiy, the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus and Dr. Rashed Mustafa Sarvar, UNICEF Representative in Belarus.
The special issue of the magazine is one of the methods of involving children in the Agenda-2030, which allows introducing SDGs to the youngest ones and instilling a conscious attitude to the planet since childhood. The issue was presented at the First National Forum on Sustainable Development, which was held on January 24, 2019.
Video about the Sustainable Development Goals, prepared for the first National Forum on Sustainable Development (Minsk, January 24, 2019)
On January 24, Minsk has hosted the First National Sustainable Development Forum gathering over 450 representatives of republican government bodies, local authorities, public organizations, representatives of academia and business circles, the diplomatic corps, international organizations, including the UN agencies.
At the Forum, the participants have discussed the work carried out in the country on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and outlined strategic and practical guidelines for the implementation of the Agenda-2030. The central pillar for the discussion was based on the Concept of the National Sustainable Development Strategy for the period up to 2035, prepared by the Ministry of Economy. The document was distributed to all participants to study and submit their proposals to the developers of the Concept.
The Forum opened with a message from the President of the Republic of Belarus, read by the First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Ryzhenkov. “The program of transformations in the economic, social and environmental fields, which was considered at the UN Summit in 2015, is relevant for the whole world and is highly appreciated by the international community. The objectives of the Agenda-2030 were set at the state level in Belarus long before its adoption of SDGs”, – the Head of State noted.
Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich spoke about the Parliament’s plans to review laws on healthcare, the rights of persons with disabilities and the protection of peatlands in the coming year. The Chairman has also expressed the hope that the participants will come up not only with well-known theses but also develop proposals that will allow Belarus to achieve the ambitious goal of getting to the group of countries with per capita income at par purchasing power parity above the world average by 2025.
In his address to the Forum’s participants, the Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas announced that this year the Government intends to publish National Sustainable Development Strategy, the linking document between the Global Goals and their implementation at the national level. The Prime Minister also reminded the audience that as of February 1, 2019, all bills will be drafted taking into account the compliance of each of them to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. “SDGs require a new inclusive economy with a value system based on sustainable growth and aimed at eliminating inequality and helping those who are lagging behind,” — Mrs. Mohammed emphasized in her video message, commending Belarus’s willingness to share its experience of working on SDGs at the international level.
The UN Secretary-General Assistant, the UNDP Assistant Administrator, the UNDP Regional Bureau Director for Europe and the CIS Mirjana Spoljarich Egger in her address to the forum participants stressed that the commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals helps the country to achieve results, creating the potential for investment and new business support.
Marianna Shchotkina, the National Coordinator for the implementation of SDGs in Belarus, also welcomed the participants. Speaking as the moderator of the official part of the Forum, Marianna Shchotkina marked the milestones on the way to achieving SDGs, which Belarus has already passed and which have yet to be implemented into reality. The National Coordinator emphasized: “The Forum is a national review of the implementation of the Agenda-2030 in the country. Today we will search for the answer to the question “How are we going to live in 2030?”. Throughout the day we will accept the proposals for the final document of the Forum, which will be sent to the Government, the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Presidential Administration for further consideration”.
“At the UN, we highly appreciate the commitment and active participation of Belarus in achieving SDGs. The UN will continue the support of the government and all partners in their further work on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” — Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus emphasized.
The Forum was held in the format of plenary and in-session meetings. At each of them, Belarus’s achievements in the economic, social and environmental blocks of sustainable development were presented and examined. The separate session has been dedicated to the issues of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of Agenda 2030. The representatives of government agencies, private business, public and scientific organizations, as well as agencies of the UN system were speaking on the matter at the Forum.
At the Forum, National Statistical Committee presented the National Reporting Platform for Achieving SDGs, the set of 255 indicators selected as the national indicators to measure progress in achieving each of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals. The platform will allow Belarus to present its indicators at the global level and to make informed management decisions at the national level.
In the global Sustainable Development Goals Index, developed to monitor the implementation of SDGs at a global scale, in 2018 Belarus ranked 23 out of 156, receiving the above the average rating for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.
The work on the implementation of SDGs in Belarus is systematic. In order to coordinate the work in this direction, the Institute of the National Coordinator was established by presidential decree with Marianna Schotkina being appointed for the position of the National Coordinator.
In the regions, the work on the SDGs implementation is laid upon regional sustainable development groups.
The branches of government work in partnership for the implementation of SDGs in Belarus. Thus, the Parliamentary Group on the SDGs is operating within the National Assembly.
Following one of the basic principles of SDGs — No one will be left behind — the Partnership Group for Sustainable Development has been created. The group is bringing together the representatives of businesses, public organizations, academia, and international organizations to work towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Belarus is actively collaborating on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the international level. In November 2017, the country accepted the UN MAPS expert advisory mission. During the visit, interested government agencies comprehensively discussed with international experts the prospects for work in the field of SDGs. The MAPS expert advisory mission outlined the main acceleration platforms (accelerators) for achieving SDGs in Belarus: green transition to inclusive and sustainable growth, focus on future generations, digital transformation, social innovation, and gender-balanced society.
Belarus is sharing its experience in building the structure and organizing the work on the implementation of SDGs at international forums. Belarus took the initiative to form a partnership of national coordinators for sustainable development. The first step towards the practical implementation of the initiative has translated to the Regional Forum of National Coordinators on Implementation of SDGs, held in Minsk on February 21–22, 2018. In order to develop the initiative, on October 3, 2018, Belarus organized a high-profile round table with partner countries the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Special attention is paid to information work aimed not only at advocacy but informing the broader public as well. The information about the SDGs was posted on billboards and TV channels, in the media and on sdgs.by the website dedicated to the implementation of SDGs in Belarus.
The comic book contest “Superheroes for SuperGoals” was held as a part of activities on involving youth in the Agenda-2030. Over 500 works were submitted for the competition. The winners were awarded on January 24, 2019, at a solemn ceremony at the Forum. A special issue of the children’s magazine “Vyaselka” was devoted to SDGs in Belarus was issued prior to the Forum. The young ambassadors for the implementation of SDGs were awarded diplomas at the Forum as well.
Full video recording of the Forum is available on the UN Belarus YouTube channel.
Outcome Document of the National Forum on Sustainable Development (98 KB)
For more photos from the Forum check the photo gallery of the site.
On January 24, at the First National Sustainable Development Forum Belarusian National Statistics committee has introduced the National platform for reporting on implementation of SDGs to the participants and journalists. The National platform is the result of the work on the development of the monitoring system for achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Belarus.
The National Reporting Platform is a set of 255 indicators selected to measure progress in achieving each of the objectives within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Platform has collected the most up-to-date information on each of the indicators of each Sustainable Development Goal. The data are presented in several formats (GSM, UMTS, and LTE), contain information about the source and methods of data aggregation, and also show the target and actual values for each indicator for the coming years.
“Key directions of work in the economic, social and environmental spheres are either finding or have already found its reflection in strategic documents. And only the presence of a high-quality and transparent monitoring system makes it possible to assess where we are going”, said Inna Medvedeva, the Chairman of the National Statistics Committee as she was opening the session on monitoring the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
The data for the Platform is aligned with international standards, which will allow Belarus to present its indicators at the global level. The National Platform and its indicators are publicly available, you can get acquainted with them on the website of The National Statistics committee.
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