The Mound of Friendship on the border of Belarus, Russia, and Latvia became the meeting place for veterans of the Great Patriotic War for the 59th time. A novelty of this year's meeting was the recreated partisan camp. The headquarters, medical unit, and printing house were located here. Real medics played the roles of military doctors, professional signalmen were responsible for communication in the headquarters, and journalists from the district newspaper worked in the printing house.

Regional council deputies discussed at the session issues of activating business initiative in the districts. The discussion was about support measures and assistance to entrepreneurs. How is small business developing in the region, and what steps is the government ready to take to meet them halfway?

A charity concert by creative groups of the Vitebskoblgaz enterprise was held in the Summer Amphitheater. All proceeds from ticket sales for the program "Land of Fathers - Holy Land" will be directed towards the improvement and reconstruction of memorials and monuments.

A seminar on land management issues was held in the Dokshytsy district. Leaders of various levels were shown how work is being carried out here on the improvement of settlements, demolition of dilapidated structures, land reclamation, and arrangement of roadside strips. Our film crew also became convinced that there is something to learn even for the administrations of large cities in this district.

The effective development of the region's economy depends on the successful implementation of new investment projects in the agro-industrial complex, logistics, and processing of local natural resources. This was stated by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Shersnev, during the opening of the 7th International Economic Forum "Innovations. Investments. Prospects." One of the main economic events of the year brought together more than 40 delegations from 14 countries, from China to Egypt.

The second "Slavic Cup" bench press tournament will be held in Vitebsk at the arena of the Central Sports Complex on Saturday (May 12). More than 100 athletes from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan are expected to compete. It is assumed that the chairman of the regional executive committee, Nikolai Sharsnyov, will take part in the tournament.

In Vitebsk, participants of the 23rd Winter Olympic Games and the 12th Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, North Korea, were honored. The official event concluded with a sincere discussion about the problems of sports.

In Ushachi, the 74th anniversary of the breakthrough of the fascist blockade by partisans of the Polotsk-Lepel zone was celebrated. At the "Breakthrough" memorial, they recalled how it happened. The feat of the Fatherland's defenders still stirs hearts. A meeting with one of the participants of the events of the war, distant and so close to every Belarusian, is in our report.

Today in Vitebsk, laureates of regional competitions for printed media for the Skaryna Prize and for electronic media for the "Vityaz" Prize were honored. Congratulations were accepted by journalists, creative teams, and entire editorial offices recognized as the best based on their work results in 2017.

Work on the facility is nearing completion, with specialists from two dozen organizations and enterprises working here to bring closer the long-awaited moment of opening. It is planned to complete the installation of new equipment by April 30. The progress of work on the new hospital building, which is eagerly awaited by the residents of the district, was reviewed by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Shersnev. The head of the region expressed confidence that the hospital building will open within the planned timeframe.

Highly qualified specialists for future industrial holdings are already being trained. In Vitebsk, the winners of the regional stage of the 3rd national championship WorldSkills Belarus-2018 were awarded. Representatives of 33 educational institutions of the region and a young specialist from one of the enterprises took part in the professional Olympiad, as these competitions are also called. The best were chosen in 14 competencies. The winners will represent the region in the republican competition. And the best of them will get a chance to go to the international championship.

These plans were announced at a meeting on the development of the region's industrial complex with the participation of the chairman of the regional executive committee. It is planned to unite footwear, garment, and machine-building enterprises. In addition, educational institutions that train specialists for the industrial complex will be included in the integration structure.

Today, the Horodok Agrarian-Technical College is a leading center for training personnel for the agro-industrial complex of the Vitebsk region. It is impossible to save on training specialists, the college is confident. The institution's goal today is to modernize the training program for agricultural personnel.

Social support for children and the quality of education were discussed by regional council deputies at a regular session.

Issues of the sowing campaign, familiarization with the work of the expanded clay gravel plant – the working trip of the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Shersnyov, to the Chashniki district was eventful.