Minister of Information Alexander Karlyukevich visited Polotsk as part of a unified information day
The first part of the meeting was dedicated to the topic "Youth of Belarus: Opportunities for Self-Realization". Today, in the republic, as the head of the ministry reported, there are 1 million 921 thousand young people aged 14 to 31, which is 20% of the population. Sociological research has shown that our youth choose creating a happy family and maintaining health as their main priorities (61%). The top five life goals include having and raising children (48%), achieving business success, career (38.5%), and professional self-realization (32.5%).
Alexander Karlukevich outlined the main directions of state youth policy, noting that a set of measures is being implemented in the country aimed at supporting young citizens and realizing their potential in all sectors of the national economy. For example, to support gifted and talented youth, 200 scholarships from the President of the Republic of Belarus are awarded to students and cadets, and another 100 scholarships are awarded to young scientists. In 2017, 2,070 people were awarded for their academic and research achievements at the expense of the Special Fund of the President. Great attention is paid to education and employment of youth, and their active participation in the creation of a knowledge economy.
The minister emphasized the importance of preserving the continuity of generations and caring for the training of a reliable personnel reserve. Changes in the government show that there is a significant rejuvenation of staff today. It is necessary that at every enterprise, as Alexander Nikolaevich said, young, creative, and initiative-taking workers stand behind experienced specialists – only in this way can we hope for good prospects in development.
Next, the head of the department informed the meeting participants about the changes that will be made to the legislation on mass media. The innovations have already been approved by the upper and lower houses of parliament and will come into force on December 1. In particular, authors who anonymously post their comments on internet portals, evaluating this or that message, will be identified. They, according to the minister, can continue to be published under pseudonyms, but the resource owner must know who is behind the unknown surname and share responsibility for the content of the comment. Alexander Karliukevich named the ability to work in the problem-thematic space that interests readers as the main condition for the demand of media.
Despite the rapid spread of the internet, the minister noted, the interest of the country's residents in printed books remains high. Every year, 10-12 thousand book publications are released in Belarus. In the "Belkniga" system, which unites more than a hundred stores, 5-6 new retail outlets are opened annually. In the capital's bookstore "Svetač" alone, the daily book display is about 70 thousand titles. An agreement has been concluded with Chinese partners on the implementation of an investment project, according to which shelves with publications from China will appear in Belarusian bookstores.
At the end, Alexander Karliukevich answered questions from the printing house employees, and then held a working meeting with the director of KUPP "Spadchyna F. Skaryna" Nikolai Iljushonok. According to the head, the enterprise is developing steadily today, provides a wide range of services and is mastering new types of products. Over the past year, the number of customers here has exceeded 7.5 thousand, including all major dairy processing enterprises in the Vitebsk region. In the near future, under the modernization program, the printing house plans to purchase another modern machine for the production of packaging using flexography.