With support from DVV International, the Belarusian City of Vitebsk joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. Vitebsk celebrated this step with an official event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Minsk on on 18 October 2018.
Vitebsk is the first city in the country to join the Global Network of Learning Cities, which operates under the auspices of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and unites 223 cities in 51 countries. The network promotes policy dialogue and peer learning among member cities, fosters partnerships and provides capacity development.
“An important decision was made to include the first Belarusian city, Vitebsk, in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. This is an acknowledgment of the efforts that Vitebsk has made in the process of ensuring continuous education of the population,” said Oleg Kravchenko, the Belarus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during his opening speech.
The event was attended by numerous ambassadors, members of the Belarusian government and parliament, as well as representatives from DVV International and UIL. Professor Un Shil Choi, member of the Governing Board of the UIL, handed over the certificate of Global Network membership to the mayor of Vitebsk, Viktor Nikolaykin.
DVV International closely accompanied the city of Vitebsk in the application process through consultation, expert workshops and support in drafting a 3-year action plan (2018-2020) defining key areas of action for the “learning city” of Vitebsk.
As recognition of this contribution by DVV International, the National Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO-Affairs and the city administration of Vitebsk presented special diplomas to Galina Veramejchyk, the director of the Belarusian country office of DVV International.
The event was followed by a two day international forum “Learning City for Creative Economy and Sustainable Development” (19-20 October), hosted by the City of Vitebsk and organised by DVV International and its partners.
More information on the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities: http://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-learning/learning-cities
UNESCO video tutorials on how to build a learning city: http://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-learning/learning-cities/unesco-launches-video-tutorials-how-build-learning-city
More information on the work of DVV International in Belarus: http://www.dvv-international.org.ua/belarus/
Top
Print