Republic

Belarus counts on knowledge, talent and intelligence, President says

Contemporary Belarus counts on knowledge, talent and intelligence. Energetic, hard-working and gifted people is the main asset of the country, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at the meeting with gifted students and youth, laureates of the special funds of the President. “Knowledge, talent and intelligence underpin the strategy of the socio-economic development of Belarus. One of the major tasks of the state is to find and bring up young talents,” the head of state underlined. Belarus is sincerely proud of intelligent and talented youth; it has a great belief in them and is strongly convinced that the achieved success will not be the only one in their life, the head of state underlined. Over 12 years of the existence of the special funds under the President of Belarus, more than 18 thousand pupils, students, artistes and teachers have been awarded special prizes and scholarships; many artistic and scientific projects have been implemented. A lot is being done in Belarus to discover and develop the talents: lyceums and gymnasiums have been opened; numerous art schools, hobby groups, studios and amateur groups have been created. The national programme “Young talents of Belarus” is being successfully implemented. According to the President, Olympiads in various subjects, tournaments, festivals and children’s and youth competitions have become very popular. “In 2007, all 28 participants from Belarus became prize-winners of international Olympiads and prestigious tournaments. Our young artistes gained undoubted success at the Mikhail Glinka competition; our youngest singers became the winners of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the second year consecutive. These impressive results speak volumes about the high efficiency of the Belarusian system of supporting young talents, the President noted. Alexander Lukashenko handed over certificates and fund laureate breastplates to the young talents. “Let this success and well-deserved awards inspire you to mount new heights in education, science and art, help surmount all the difficulties and become the incentive for professional and creative growth,” the President said. The Belarusian head of state thanked teachers and professors for their enthusiasm and devotion. He drew the attention of the young talents to the fact that their success was achieved to a great extent due to their teachers