The Braslav district is more than just a picturesque landscape – it is a place where everyone feels welcome. With support from the Joint Project, accessible tourism has become the norm rather than the exception.
In 2025, 21 pilot initiatives that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being implemented across Belarus. Each of these projects is a step toward a society where physical capabilities do not determine one’s chances of living a full and meaningful life.
One such initiative in Braslav emerged from collaboration between the district’s Public Association for Cross-Border Cooperation “Euro-Region Lake District”, Braslav Lakes National Park, and the Republican Association of Wheelchair Users.
The partnership delivered concrete results: 26 tourism specialists received training in creating accessible routes for people with disabilities, including wheelchair users and individuals with visual and hearing impairments.
“Thank you so much for the course! Now I feel more confident and competent in working with this category of guests,” reflected one participant.
The initiative’s centerpiece includes newly developed inclusive tours across Braslav and Polotsk towns, as well as access to the country’s largest music festival, Viva Braslav – because music is for everyone.
To ensure comfort for visitors with limited mobility, Braslav Lakes National Park acquired specialized equipment including pool lifts and electric scooters. A dedicated brochure, developed as part of the SDG pilot initiative, details the park’s inclusive facilities.
The transformation reflects a fundamental shift in approach. “The implementation of our initiative allows people with limited mobility to see and feel that we need them, that we are waiting for them and will create all the conditions within our power for their comfortable stay and recreation in Braslav Lakes National Park,” explains the initiative’s Coordinator Nadezhda Dudarenok. “We are ready to welcome everyone, leaving no one behind.”
This commitment is especially meaningful for the Braslav district, where 1,360 people with disabilities reside, including 162 wheelchair users. For them, the opportunity to explore their native region is not a luxury but a long-awaited reality.
“Only someone who is confined to four walls all the time can understand this – here they were given a vivid picture, an opportunity to see and feel. These emotions are indescribable. It is joy, happiness, confidence that you overcame, that you were helped and not turned away,” says Inna Rupets, a Minsk visitor describing her inclusive tour experience. The transformation also reached Braslav’s town beach. Through an initiative led by the district’s Social Services Centre, the beach has been redesigned for universal access.
Wooden decking and handrails, beach wheelchairs, inclusive changing facilities and accessible toilets have transformed a previously restricted space into a genuinely welcoming public space for people with disabilities, families with pushchairs, and elderly visitors alike.
“A person in a wheelchair cannot simply approach the water, but such initiatives create places where everyone, without exception, can come and connect with nature,” observes local resident Elena Shaputko.
The regional SDG pilot initiatives contribute significantly to localizing sustainable development across Belarus, demonstrating that global progress begins with local partnerships and grassroots action. The projects also provide inspiration and practical models for other regions.
“The SDGs contribute to changing society’s attitude towards people with disabilities,” notes the initiative’s Coordinator Irina Maksimovich, emphasizing that inclusion requires shifts in both mindset and behavior.
Local resident Vadim Pakhomov, who has a first-degree disability, reinforces this perspective: “I believe all people should be equal and have access to recreation. Therefore, despite all obstacles, conditions must be created so that people with disabilities feel comfortable.”
Step by step, the Braslav region demonstrates that accessible tourism transcends sloganeering to become meaningful practice where every guest feels welcome. Here, beside the lakes where sunsets paint the sky, beauty has become truly accessible to all.
The pilot initiatives are implemented with support of the Joint Project “Support to the Efforts of the Republic of Belarus in Nationalization and Localization of SDGs”, funded by the Russian Federation.
More about the pilot initiatives on the SDGs via the link.
The pilot initiative “Inclusive Beach” are being implemented by the Territorial Social Service Center of Braslav District with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of 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 Government of the Russian Federation.
The implementation of this initiative will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 3, 10, 11 and the other SDGs by the Republic of Belarus.
The pilot initiative “Training visually impaired individuals in adaptive sports: SHOWDOWN” is implemented by the Belarusian Society of the Visually Impaired (NGO) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of 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 Government of the Russian Federation.
Implementation of the initiative’s activities contributes to the socialization of persons with visual disabilities through training in the SHOWDOWN game of table tennis and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8, 10 and the other SDGs by the Republic of Belarus.
The pilot initiative “Inclusive Animation” is implemented by the Grodno Regional Organization of the Republican Public Association “Belarusian Red Cross Society” with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of 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.
Implementation of the initiative’s activities contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 4, 9, 10 and the other SDGs by the Republic of Belarus.
On May 13-15, 2025, training seminars on playing table tennis for the blind “SHOWDOWN” were held in schools in Belarus where children with visual disabilities study. The seminars were held in the Vasilyevichi Special Boarding School for Children with Visual Disabilities, the Special School No. 188 for Children with Visual Disabilities in Minsk, and the Orsha Sports Club.
During the seminars, the students learned the history of the development of SHOWDOWN in the world, studied the rules of the game, got acquainted with sports equipment, received recommendations from the coach and practiced the basic techniques.
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In March-April 2025, as part of the pilot initiative “Promoting the development of the startup movement and small innovative entrepreneurship to foster sustainable development in the regions of Belarus, stimulate youth social mobility, and integrate regional economic capacities”, problem-oriented strategic sessions on the development of startup movement and small innovative entrepreneurship were held in the cities of Belarus.
In total, 4 problem-oriented strategic sessions were organized in Vitebsk, Orsha, Molodechno, Borisov, which were attended by 80 people.
During the sessions, the participants brainstormed on the problems hindering the development of the startup movement and small innovative entrepreneurship in the country and regions, their place and role in the system of relations “business – state – society”, as well as development priorities for 2026-2030.
Each session resulted in a collective opinion on the development of the startup movement and small entrepreneurship for submission to the regulatory authorities.
The pilot initiative “Promoting the development of the startup movement and small innovative entrepreneurship to foster sustainable development in the regions of Belarus, stimulate youth social mobility, and integrate regional economic capacities” is implemented by the Business Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers named after Professor M.S. Kunyavsky with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of 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 Government of the Russian Federation.
The implementation of the pilot initiative will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 8, 9 and the other SDGs by the Republic of Belarus.
On April 16, 2025, the introductory seminar of the pilot initiative “Distance learning of the Sustainable Development Goals” was held. The seminar was held in the urban settlement of Krasnopolye, which was chosen as the site for the pilot initiative.
The seminar was attended by 60 people (55 of them women). They included representatives of local authorities, organizers and partners of the initiative, and residents of Krasnopolye district.
The seminar provided information on the goals and objectives of the pilot initiative, the Sustainable Development Goals and their achievement at the local level, as well as the launch of online educational courses on sustainable development topics and the Contest for Krasnopolsky Raion residents.
Thus, the main goal of the pilot initiative “Distance learning of the Sustainable Development Goals” is to popularize the ideas and values of sustainable development among the population through online courses and educational events on the SDGs.
Specialized online educational courses on the SDGs will be developed under the pilot initiative and placed on the Belarusian platform for distance education Skybel. Access to training materials will be unlimited from any device: computer, tablet, smartphone. A total of 4 online courses are planned: Sustainable Development Goals for a Harmonious Future; Foundations of a Green Economy; Gender Equality; Greening of Life.
Pilot initiative “Distance learning of the Sustainable Development Goals” is being implemented by Ecological Initiative NGO with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Belarus under the Joint Project “Support to the Efforts of the Republic of Belarus in Nationalization and Localization of SDGs”, funded by the Government of the Russian Federation.
On April 16, 2025, the educational event “Sweet Life” was held on the basis of the Center for Advanced Agribusiness at the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy within the framework of the pilot initiative “Road to the future. Developing competencies in precision agriculture among preschool and school-aged children and youth”.
The event was attended by 25 children from Gorki preschool institutions. During the class the children were familiarized with the basics of modern beekeeping, learned interesting facts about bees, bee products, directions of beekeeping development in Belarus. For a visual representation of the processes of organization of modern beekeeping, the children were shown the smart hive. Children worked independently with the interactive platform, saw how bees live and grow, how their house is organized, and then participated in making frames for the hive.
The pilot initiative “Road to the future. Developing competencies in precision agriculture among preschool and school-aged children and youth” is implemented by the Belfranchising (Association of Franchisers and Franchisees) with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Republic of 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 Government of the Russian Federation.
Implementation of the initiative’s activities contributes to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of the Sustainable Development Goals 2, 4, 8, 12 and the other SDGs.
On April 14, 2025, within the framework of the pilot initiative “Regional information resource center for persons with disabilities – assistance in exercising and protecting their rights”, a workshop dedicated to the creation of an accessible environment at infrastructure facilities was held in Gomel.
The seminar was attended by representatives of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee, including bodies on labor and employment, education, health, culture, sports and tourism, housing and communal services, trade, architecture and urban planning, as well as public associations.
The participants of the seminar were shown the equipment used for organization of barrier-free environment, paid attention to the mistakes in its installation, talked about the peculiarities of equipment of social and transport infrastructure objects with elements of accessible environment for blind and visually impaired people.
The workshop held in Gomel is the beginning of a large-scale awareness-raising work on the issue of creating a barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities. During 2025, such seminars will be held in 5 more major cities of Gomel region.
The pilot initiative “Regional information resource center for persons with disabilities – assistance in exercising and protecting their rights” is implemented by the Disabled Persons with Spinal Injuries (Gomel Regional NGO for Disabled Persons with Impaired Musculoskeletal Function) with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Republic of 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 Government of the Russian Federation.
The main idea of the pilot initiative is to create a resource center for persons with disabilities and their environment, as well as to conduct information campaigns, contests and trainings on inclusive topics. Implementation of the initiative’s activities contributes to the achievement by the Republic of Belarus of the Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8, 10, 11 and the other SDGs.
Source of information
On April 12, 2025, within the framework of the pilot initiative “Road to the future. Developing competencies in precision agriculture among preschool and school-aged children and youth”, a training event “Modern Agriculture” was held at the Center for Advanced Agribusiness at the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy (Gorki).
Participants in the event were members of four families – 11 children between the ages of 3 and 16 and 4 adults. During the training, they were familiarized with the basic technological agricultural operations. With the help of an interactive platform and special consoles the children were allowed to control agro-robots and feel themselves as real workers of the agricultural enterprise. In particular, they delivered feed to farm animals, removed weeds from the field, and delivered milk from the farm to the processing plant.
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