Novopolotsk will receive financial support from the EU/UNDP project "Sustainable Development at the Local Level"

June 1, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Four applications from Novopolotsk have been approved and will receive financial support within the framework of the joint project of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme "Sustainable Development at the Local Level," Tatiana Suzdaleva, a methodologist of the education department of the Novopolotsk City Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. Novopolotsk is among the 35 pilot regions of Belarus where the EU/UNDP project "Sustainable Development at the Local Level" will be implemented. Its educational institutions have actively engaged in creating mini-projects aimed at education for sustainable development, improving tourist infrastructure along green routes, and establishing eco-museums. As Tatiana Suzdaleva emphasized, despite the fact that the proposals were prepared by a gymnasium and an extracurricular center, their projects are important for the development of the region as a whole. For example, the extracurricular center intends to focus on the improvement and exploration of ancient megalithic sites of the Polotsk Stonehenge for the green route "Star Diadem of Polotsk Land." As is known, many stones and boulders have been found in the region, which were used by pagans as altars and possibly even as observatories. Undoubtedly, the implementation of such a project will contribute to the creation of a new tourist product, the interlocutor believes. Thanks to the projects, the mobile ecological theater "Ant Hill" and the urban computer game on separate waste collection and energy efficiency "The City We Live In" may become a reality in Novopolotsk. According to Tatiana Suzdaleva, financial assistance for each project can range from $3,000 to $8,000. The projects are planned to be completed by the end of the current year. The selection of projects was carried out by a competition commission, which included representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, the Ministry of Economy of Belarus, the United Nations Development Programme, and the European Union's representation in Belarus, as well as project experts. -0-