On 11 October, the final Faces of Projects photo exhibition in this season opened in Stolin. Due to a heavy downpour, the opening ceremony was held not as usual, in the open air; Ekran Cinema opened its doors for the exhibition participants and guests.
The opening ceremony was attended by Ms. Tatsiana Aliakseyeva, Press and Information Officer, Operations of the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus; Mr. Sergey Sidorevich, Deputy Chairperson of the Stolin District Executive Committee; Mr. Viktor Velesnitsky, Director of the local foundation of Stolin District Rural Development and Entrepreneurship Support Centre (Vegetable-Growing Network of Experimentation, Exchange and Dissemination of Information (ExNet) project); Ms. Yelena Poklonskaya, the heroine of the Networking around Nature Project from Turaŭ; Ms. Agnia Asanovich, Culture and Creativity Project and Mr. Dmitry Burenkin, Coordinator of the Braslaŭ District – the First Climate-Neutral Municipality in Belarus Project – from the Centre for Environmental Solutions.
Ms. Tatsiana Aliakseyeva, noted that the Stolin land was rich with talents, with a great deal of fascinating ideas brought to fruition there. Therefore, she was positive that the exhibition would be of relevance, as it presented dynamic outstanding people who had managed to make their dreams come true with support from the European Union.
Mr. Sergey Sidorenko emphasized that Stolin District had experience of cooperation with the European Union under the Horticultural Network for Experimenting, Information Exchange and Dissemination Project. The project was presented in detail by Mr. Viktor Velesnitsky, Director of the local foundation of Stolin District Rural Development and Entrepreneurship Support Centre: "ExNet Project provides practical assistance to rural initiatives and creates conditions for experience exchange. Experiments/demonstrations at horticultural land plots is a most demanded activity of the Stolin Rural Development Centre. It provides for addressing horticulturists' pending challenges and for introducing best practices".
Ms. Yelena Poklonskaya: "Our activities cover both Turaŭ schools and Žytkavičy District. They are part of our Winged Watch and research societies. A branch of Birdlife-Belarus opened in Turaŭ last year, and we are hopeful of expanding the possibilities for implementation of our plans."
Ms. Agnia Asanovich: "Creativity and innovation, as key elements of the cultural process, make a positive impact on various spheres of social development. The project is mainly aimed at supporting cultural and creative industries, increasing their input into sustainable humanitarian and socioeconomic development of the Eastern Partnership countries".
Mr. Dmitry Burenkin gave an account of the project implemented by the Centre for Environmental Solutions in Braslaŭ; he mentioned that Braslaŭ Raion, a popular tourist recreation area, should become the first climate-neutral municipality in Belarus. It is expected that these ambitious goals will be achieved with the use of renewable energy sources and promotion of the energy efficiency concepts.
After the opening ceremony, the exhibition guests visited the Stolin District Rural Development and Entrepreneurship Support Centre and the family horticultural farm of Yevgeny and Alla Germash in the village of Mochul, Stolin District.
Under the project, the Germash family has implemented a number of interesting ideas, such as manufacture, installation and operation of a metal-frame greenhouse that allows growing earlier products and selling them at higher prices.
