Five districts of the Vitebsk region have been identified for the development of local initiatives under the UNDP project

Five districts of the Vitebsk region have been identified as pilot sites for the international technical assistance project "Support for Local Development in the Republic of Belarus" of the UNDP. This was announced by the project's regional coordinator, Viktor Eroshov.

The project was launched in December 2015. The first stage included the first competition of local initiatives, which, in addition to awarding mini-grants to the winners, identified the most active districts throughout Belarus. From these, a top thirty were selected based on a rating assessment. In the Vitebsk region, Dokshytsy, Polotsk, Glubokoye, Tolochin, and Braslav districts advanced to the next stage of the project.

Relevant memorandums have been signed with the leadership of the local executive committees, which expire on July 1, 2018 – this is the completion date of the entire project. The specified districts will become pilot sites for developing approaches to territorial-oriented development (TOD) and conducting the main competition of local initiatives. Large-scale work is planned in the selected territories to create local initiative groups for TOD planning, uniting the interests of authorities, non-profit organizations, and businesses in developing district development priorities. At all stages

These groups will be provided with advisory assistance for the formation of a TOR passport, which will become a valuable tool for finding co-financing opportunities for the initiatives included in it from budget funds and from international donors.

Members of local communities will also have the opportunity to participate in training events and trips to EU countries to study experience in the field of sustainable territorial development. And, of course, the main competition of local initiatives will be organized in the pilot regions, within the framework of which each region will be able to receive up to 70 thousand euros.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.