The debut season of the exhibition started on 1 July 2015 on the embankment of the Gorky Children’s Park in Minsk. Since its inception, the exhibition has visited 23 major and minor Belarusian cities, presented 58 projects and focused on people of various professions working in a variety of areas: representatives of the local authorities and public activists, officials at ministries and state agencies, teachers, university and school students, scientists, engineers, and farmers — 58 personal stories.
In her address to the audience Andrea Wiktorin, Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus, said: “The Faces of Projects exhibition tells about inspiring and creative Belarusians. The European Union helps them to achieve their dreams.” The fourth season has retained the original concept of the exhibition: to present a project that has made a difference through the personality of a person involved. Infographics contribute to the exhibition, making it possible to visualize the mechanism and crucial characteristics of each project. The keynote idea of the new season is green economy, promotion of rural areas, education, tourism, culture, business, and inclusive practices.
Dmitry Yermolyuk, deputy head of the Pan-European Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Yulia Matskevich, a photo artist and author of the exhibition, and high school student Daniil Savyonok spoke in front of the guests of the opening ceremony. A new lift has been installed in secondary school No. 8, which Daniil attends along with thirty more adolescents with special needs, as part of the initiative “Navapolack — from the inclusive school to the inclusive city.” The students, whose only possibility to study used to be distance learning, have been enabled to attend classes together with their schoolmates and move around the school building. This inclusive project is being implemented by the Navapolack city executive committee, the public organization Belarusian Union of Transport Workers, and the Belarusian Society of Disabled People with the financial support of the EU Delegation to Belarus.
The exhibition will be open in Minsk until 10 June and then visit 13 Belarusian cities. Valožyn, Braslaŭ, Navapolack, Mscislaŭ, Biaroza, Navahrudak will become new destinations, whereas Hrodna, Brest, Homieĺ, Mahilioŭ, and Viciebsk will host the exhibition for the second time.
