Two local initiatives from the Polotsk district received support from the EU and the UNDP

The Zelenkovsky and Ekimansky rural executive committees of the Polotsk district became the winners of the EU/UNDP project "Support for Local Development in the Republic of Belarus". This was reported in the press service of the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

On the territory of the Zelenkovsky village council, methods of health sleep on bee hives will be introduced, as well as the development of health and educational tourism (studying the structure of bee family life).

Tourism will also be developed in the village of Ekimani. Here, they plan to attract guests through the preservation and promotion of the cultural, natural, and historical heritage of rural areas. The main goal of the first of the mentioned projects is to unite the efforts of local authorities, public organizations, business representatives, and residents in the effective use of natural resources as a means of relaxation and health improvement, and an innovative tourist product. It is planned that all this will become an effective economic component, a basis for the sustainable development of the rural territories of the village of Bulavki.

The goal of the second initiative is to develop and implement a basis for a diverse, multi-stage strategy for identifying, modernizing, and updating historical, cultural, and natural sites in the village of Ekimani and creating a competitive tourist product as a way of forming the foundations for sustainable development in various spheres of society's life. The implementation of the initiatives is planned to begin in early 2016, and the duration of the projects is 6 months. The competition of initiatives was held under the international technical assistance project with the assistance of the Ministry of Economy of Belarus. Funding is provided by the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme. Out of 722 applications, 87 best initiatives were selected, including 16 from the Vitebsk region.

Alena Tikhonova, BELTA.