More than 2.3 thousand schoolchildren from all regions of Belarus have been invited to Minsk for the New Year's celebration

December 24, Minsk / Yulia Vanina - BELTA /. More than 2.3 thousand schoolchildren from all regions of Belarus have been invited to Minsk for a charity New Year's ball and the performance "Four Magic Keys". The events will be held today at the Palace of the Republic as part of the "Our Children" New Year's campaign, Deputy Minister of Education Viktor Yakzhik told a BELTA correspondent. 2,370 children will take part in the celebration. Among them are students who received awards based on the results of district, regional, republican and international Olympiads, creative competitions and contests, leaders of children's public associations, orphans, children left without parental care, pupils of boarding schools, children with disabilities, children from large and low-income families, children from areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster, and others. 100 children from Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, and Brest regions received invitation tickets for the charity New Year's celebration, 300 from Minsk region, and 1,570 teenagers from Minsk. Guests from the regions, who will arrive in the capital on December 23, will be treated to an interesting excursion around the capital and a performance at the Belarusian State Circus. New Year's trees for children will be organized in every region of the country, and festive performances will be held in all schools and kindergartens. "Not a single child will be left without attention. Every little resident of Belarus will feel their involvement in the New Year and Christmas holidays," the Deputy Minister noted. The "Our Children" New Year's charity campaign has been held in Belarus from December 20, 2010, to January 10, 2011, for the 16th time. A special organizing committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potupchik is working to ensure that all children receive gifts and attend colorful performances. Heads of ministries, other republican government bodies, and local executive and administrative bodies will take part in the events. They will visit orphanages, including family-type ones, boarding schools, foster and adoptive families, children's social shelters, and children's hospitals, and present gifts to children. The campaign will be funded by funds provided for in the republican budget and extra-budgetary funds. -0-