According to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023, Belarus ranks 22nd in terms of access to ICT among 132 countries.
ICT access is represented by a composite index that assigns weights to 4 indicators:
As of the beginning of 2024, 99% of the population in Belarus is covered by the LTE (4G) mobile network. The number of mobile connections accounted for 120.5% of the total population. 89.5% of households in the country have Internet access.
Source of information
On May 24, 2024, within the framework of the educational project “Lessons of Sustainable Development”, the II Republican Forum of Young Friends of the SDGs was held at the educational institution “Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank”.
The forum included a methodological ESD workshop, an SDG marathon and a presentation of youth socially significant initiatives implemented by participants of the republican competition “Young Friends of the SDGs”.
In total, in the 2023-2024 academic year, 340 students of specialized pedagogical classes from 59 general secondary education institutions from all regions of the country took part in the project “Lessons of Sustainable Development”. Participation in the project “Lessons of Sustainable Development” allowed students to understand the meaning of sustainable development, realize their own role in achieving the SDGs, and gain experience in implementing socially significant initiatives.
More information about the II Republican Forum of Young Friends of the SDGs is available at the link.
n order to involve a wide range of stakeholders in the discussion of the vision of future development, strategic sessions on the development of regional sustainable development strategies will be held in the regions of Belarus. These sessions are planned to be held in Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno and Minsk regions.
On May 29–30, 2024, the first strategic sessions on the development of regional sustainable development strategies, aimed at forming a model of sustainable development of the Vitebsk region, developing the main directions of sustainable development of the Vitebsk region in the field of technological, innovative and investment development, green and circular economy, green urban planning were held in Vitebsk.
In total, more than 60 people took part in the event: representatives of state and public organizations, educational institutions, science, the private sector, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, regional regions, etc.
The sessions were organized in the format of discussions in small groups on the following thematic areas:
During the strategic session “Workshop of the Future”, the participants identified the Vitebsk region by 2040 as a place with a high standard of living and business activity, sustainable population growth in urban and rural areas, as well as a high level of technological development of enterprises and tourism activity.
During the foresight sessions “Defining the paths for long-term technological, innovative and investment development of the Vitebsk region for the period until 2040” and “Defining ways for the long-term development of the Vitebsk region in the field of green, including circular, economy for the period until 2040”, participants identified areas for improvement, growth points and opportunities for the development of the Vitebsk region until 2040. Among the priority areas of sustainable development, the participants highlighted ecology, digitalization and social orientation. Particular attention should be paid to the development of a high standard of living in rural areas, development of a regional green economy strategy, development of regional clusters, improving the quality of education with a focus on the needs of enterprises, developing the marketing competencies of industry enterprises.
Strategic sessions on the development of the regional sustainable development strategy of the Vitebsk region was organized by the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee with the support of the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus within the framework of the Joint Project “Support to the Efforts of the Republic of Belarus in Nationalization and Localization of SDGs”, funded by the Russian Federation.
On May 29-30, 2024, events within the framework of the socio-educational project “SHE in Art and Life” will be held at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank.
The goal of the project is to popularize the creativity of Belarusian artists, promote the ideas of gender equality and partnership among youth.
As part of the project, an exhibition of works by contemporary Belarusian artists will be organized, discussions, trainings, master classes, lectures, and a talk show “A Woman Can…” will be held.
Detailed program of events within the framework of the project “SHE in Art and Life”
The implementation of the project “SHE in Art and Life” contributes to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of Sustainable Development Goals 5, 10, 17 and other SDGs.
From 24 to 30 May, 2024, the Republican Week of Tourism and Local History for children and youth is being held in educational institutions of Belarus. The event is organized by the Republican Center for Ecology and Local History with the support of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus.
The Week’s events are aimed at improving the quality of work of the country’s educational institutions in shaping national identity among the younger generation, as well as popularizing and developing tourism, local history and excursion activities among teaching staff and students of educational institutions.
Conditions and recommendations for holding events of the Republican Week of Tourism and Local History for Children and Youth
Using the potential of tourism, local history and excursions in the educational process is an important resource that contributes to the education of students, the formation of a healthy lifestyle and the development of creative abilities, which contributes to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 13, 15 and other SDGs.
On May 23, 2024, the joint meeting of the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus was held.
During the meeting, the participants reviewed the results of joint work on developing technological maps for the development of economic sectors and preparing promising project ideas, and also discussed issues of strengthening the role of science and innovation in economic development and developing joint approaches to methodological recommendations for developing strategies for the development of economic sectors (types of economic activity) of the production sector for 2026-2035.
More detailed information about the meeting can be found at the link.
On May 22, 2024, OJSC “Belagroprombank” and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus signed an Agreement on operation and interaction to support and develop business activities.
The Agreement is aimed at creating a favorable environment for the development of small businesses, developing entrepreneurial initiatives and information and consulting support, expanding access of SMEs to financial resources.
As part of joint information and explanatory work, meetings are already being held at the sites of Belagroprombank’s Igrow Centers with the participation of representatives of regional employment services aimed at career guidance for young people, support for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, assistance to the unemployed in organizing entrepreneurial activities, and popularization of government support measures. Since the beginning of 2024, meetings have already been held in Pinsk, Baranovichi, Kalinkovichi, Mogilev and Rechitsa.
The Agreement will become a new direction of work of OJSC “Belagroprombank” and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus to support entrepreneurial initiatives and will allow scaling the successful practice of interaction in all regions of the country, which will contribute to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of Sustainable Development Goals 8, 10, 17 and other SDGs.
Sourse of information
On April 15 – 16, 2024, within the framework of the International Project “Youth Capital of the CIS”, the VIII Forum of Youth Public Organizations of the CIS Member States was held in Tashkent. The forum is aimed at intensifying interaction to create conditions for developing the potential of youth, creating youth infrastructure, and developing international youth cooperation as significant factors in sustainable development.
During the Forum, young people from 8 CIS member countries exchanged experiences and presented their vision of cooperation between the public organizations they represent in such areas as education, science, volunteerism, ecology, as well as the development of new youth initiatives.
In the section “Global Environmental Problems and Ways to Solve Them“, SDG 14 Youth Ambassador Asharchuk Yanina spoke about the experience of the Republic of Belarus in ensuring environmental sustainability and the process of achieving the environmental Sustainable Development Goals.
More detailed information about the Forum can be found at the link.
Human interaction with nature and the rational use of natural resources – a global problem of our time. The most important aspect in its solution is the environmental education of the younger generation.
The task of environmental education is to develop environmental knowledge, cultivate love for nature, strive to preserve and increase it, and develop the ability to work in nature.
In Belarus, all conditions have been created for the active participation of children and youth in environmental events in various forms of environmental activities: dialogue platforms at schools and universities, vacation time at health camps, excursions to specially protected natural areas, cleanup days, volunteer movement. Over 20 republican environmental events and competitions are held annually in the country: “Mother Earth Day”, “Car Free Day”, “Plant Your Tree”, “Together for a Clean Green Country”, “Clean Water” and others.
Also, environmental topics are integrated into the curriculum of educational institutions in Belarus. The “Green Schools” project is being implemented – as of January 1, 2024, about 10% of all schools and kindergartens in the country are involved in the project. Almost 4 thousand children across the country are involved in “School Forestry“. Since 2019, the innovative project “Green Classes of the Belarusian Capital” has been implemented in Minsk. International youth environmental forums, environmental Olympiads, and gatherings of young ecologists are held on the basis of higher educational institutions.
The formation of an environmental culture and the development of skills to solve many environmental problems at a young age makes an important contribution to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of Sustainable Development Goals 4, 13 and other SDGs.
More information about environmental education and enlightenment of youth in Belarus can be found at the link.
A series of training sessions for people 65+ and specialists from territorial service centers of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection started in Minsk. There are already 3.7 thousand silver volunteers in Belarus, almost 3.3 thousand of them are women. The average age of a silver volunteer is 70 years. The idea is to further develop the ways and means of volunteering, to involve more older people in silver volunteering and to use new opportunities for this.
The School’s program is varied: training in information work techniques in social networks, methods of effective communication in mobilizing and attracting volunteers, and even neuro-gymnastics that develops cognitive abilities.
The School was opened by alternate SDG Youth Ambassadors Ekaterina Bobko (SDG “Good Health and Well-Being”) and Karolina Lapunova (SDG 5 “Gender Equality”).
Their interactive presentation focused on the connection between achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and overcoming ageist stereotypes regarding health issues, equal rights and opportunities for men and women and other stereotypes that limit the opportunities of people 65+.
«My 42-year-old daughter is faced with the fact that they don’t want to hire her because she’s not the right age – says one of the participants. – If my daughter, an accomplished specialist, experiences similar problems at 42, then what about the older generation?».
People 65+ want to be in demand. According to The 2022 Revision of World Population Prospects, the number of people aged 80 years and over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050. We are at the beginning of the Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030), which the UN is pursuing to ensure that both states and people themselves see and can realize the opportunities that allow older people to live and act in accordance with their values and ideas about themselves. One of these opportunities is silver volunteering. “School of Silver Volunteers” is taking place this year in all regions within the framework of the Joint Project “Support to the Efforts of the Republic of Belarus in Nationalization and Localization of SDGs”, implemented by UN agencies and funded by the Government of the Russian Federation. The trainings were organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Belarus.
SITE MAP
