Closer cooperation in problem solving is important for the Belarusan public organizations.
This statement made Leanid Kalitsenia, the head of the NGO Center for Social Innovations, in the talk with the EuroBelarus Information Service.
- There is a lot of work in the public sector, - Leanid Kalitsenia is convinced. – It is hard to boast of achievements and small victories in 2013, while the situation with the civil society of Belarus is not improving. I would be happier about our achievements within some coalitions or campaigns; as until framework of public organizations’ work is not changed for the better, it is hard to take into consideration some isolated, though quite successful actions. Though we have worked productively in a number of directions, such as, for example, civicism, it is only a single spot of success on a national scale.
The head of the NGO Center for Social Innovations believes that although a lot of important work has been done, there is still place for improvement.
- The most important common direction is the Belarusan National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, - shares his view Leanid Kalitsenia. – However, we didn’t manage to achieve considerable progress there; and the split has only widened. I think that we should throw all our efforts to improve the Platform’s activity.
According to Leanid Kalitsenia, next year Center for Social Innovations will continue its work on the problem of Belarusan civicism within the framework of the Association of Life-Long Learning and Enlightenment, The work with the problem of socialization of people with disabilities and with the issues of social economics will also be continued.
- We will continue our cooperation with the Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities, which can be very productive, - continues Leanid Kalitsenia. – We are going to employ innovation there.
- Aspiration for joining of efforts among the organizations we are cooperating within the International Consortium “EuroBelarus” is noticeable. We are also trying to achieve consolidation of a wider circle of NGO, but not hard enough, Leanid Kalitsenia assumes. – Because as long as we are unable to achieve consolidation between the civil society organizations, we can’t be optimistic about mutual trust and development of relations within Belarusan society.
The Belarus Committee of ICOMOS announces the collection of cases on the effectiveness of the State List of Historical and Cultural Values as a tool of the safeguarding the cultural monuments.
On March 27-28, the Belarus ICOMOS and the EuroBelarus held an online expert workshop on expanding opportunities for community participation in the governance of historical and cultural heritage.
It is impossible to change life in cities just in three years (the timeline of the “Agenda 50” campaign implementation). But changing the structure of relationships in local communities is possible.
"Specificity is different, but the priority is general." In Valożyn, a local strategy for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed.
The campaign "Agenda 50" was summed up in Ščučyn, and a local action plan for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed there.
The regional center has become the second city in Belarus where the local plan for the implementation of the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed.
Representatives of the campaign “Agenda 50” from five pilot cities discussed achievements in creating local agendas for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It is noteworthy that out of the five pilot cities, Stoubcy was the last to join the campaign “Agenda 50”, but the first one to complete the preparation of the local agenda.
On May 28, the city hosted a presentation of the results of the project "Equal to Equal" which was dedicated to monitoring the barrier-free environment in the city.
On March 3, members of the campaign "Agenda 50" from different Belarusian cities met in Minsk. The campaign is aimed at the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In Stolin, social organizations and local authorities are implementing a project aimed at independent living of persons with disabilities, and creating local agenda for the district.
He said Belarus would likely face economic tightening not only as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but also a Russian trade oil crisis that worsened this past winter.
In his report, philosopher Gintautas Mažeikis discusses several concepts that have been a part of the European social and philosophical thought for quite a time.
It is impossible to change life in cities just in three years (the timeline of the “Agenda 50” campaign implementation). But changing the structure of relationships in local communities is possible.