Among the new development priorities for Novopolotsk are the development of tourism, sports, and the service sector

September 11, Minsk /Corr. BELTA/. Among the future priority areas for the sustainable development of Novopolotsk are the development of tourism, sports, the service sector and housing infrastructure, environmental protection and healthcare. This conclusion was reached by the participants of the seminar-training "Local Agenda 21: Work Organization Scheme and its Thematic Blocks," which took place today in Novopolotsk as part of the European Union and United Nations Development Programme project "Sustainable Development at the Local Level." This was reported to BELTA correspondent by the project's thematic coordinator Oleg Belyachits. This event continued a series of 20 trainings that will be conducted by experts of the EU/UNDP project over the next three months in the Belarusian regions. The "Sustainable Development at the Local Level" project involves close cooperation between authorities and local communities at the regional level. Regions interested in developing Local Agenda 21 (local sustainable development strategies) and creating Green Routes (ecological tourist routes) previously applied for participation in the competition. The city of Novopolotsk was preliminarily selected by the competition commission of the joint EU/UNDP project as a priority territory for the development of Local Agenda 21. It became one of the 35 pilot regions that will receive methodological, organizational, and informational assistance in developing Local Agenda 21 and Green Routes, as well as financial support on a competitive basis for mini-projects in the field of sustainable development. In addition, subsequently, it is planned to organize a series of training trips for pilot regions to exchange experience within the country and abroad. The main goal of the training is to train an initiative group of representatives of the local authorities and public of Novopolotsk in the methodology of preparing Local Agenda 21 and to acquire the skills necessary for implementing local sustainable development strategies. -0-