Year of the small homeland
The native land... For each person this idea means something own. Reflecting on the importance of the native land for everyone, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko noted that “... it has many faces. For somebody, this is their hometown, a street in the city or a small courtyard, a village where the best childhood years were spent, for others this is a piece of wildlife that pleased the eye and gave a feeling of fullness and peace. And for those who went to look for happiness abroad, Belarus became their native land”.
On February 9, 2018 at the ceremony of state awards giving to the best workers of the agricultural sector of Belarus in Minsk, the President announced the decision to declare 2018 the Year of Native Land.
Alexander Lukashenko stressed, that now that’s the time to repay to the native land. “I really want that the help comes from the heart, becomes our own initiative. It can be material, constructive, enlightening, creative - as much as you can. It depends on possibilities, fantasy and desire of everyone. It’s time to express ourselves and inscribe our names in the history of our country, this piece of our land”, in such a manner the Belarusian leader, addressing the people, called for taking the initiative for the good of the country.
In June it was adopted the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus «O provedenii Goda maloj rodiny (On holding the Year of the Native Land)» during 2018–2020 with the aim to «stimulate socio-economic development of the regions, form an active citizenship of the population, and presere the historical, cultural and spiritual heritage ». The Council of Ministers, together with the Minsk City Executive Committee and the regional executive committees, developed and approved the «Respublikanskaya programma meropriyatij po provedeniyu v Respublike Belarus 2018–2020 godov pod znakom Goda maloj rodiny (Republican program of activities for holding 2018-2020 in the Republic of Belarus under the sign of the Year of Native Land)».
The program includes 123 events, classified by the following areas:
• establishment of the perfect order on the land and landscaping of settlements;
• creation of the most comfortable living conditions;
• stimulation of business activity of citizens, provision of employment and self-employment;
• innovation and research activities;
• promotion of love for their native land among youth;
• preservation of historical, cultural and moral values;
• popularization of sports, tourism and active lifestyle;
• nationwide information campaign.
The range of events is varied: from economic activities, construction and restoration works to competitions, festivals, conferences and advertising in the media.
In the Year of Native Land the traditional local history work which has been long time in the focus of attention of many institutions, including archives, museums, libraries, and research institutes, is stimulated.
Today electronic information resources of local lore subject have been created in the library sphere. They are available in all regional, many district, city and some rural libraries. These resources reflect the heroic past of various places in Belarus, their cultural identity, rich architectural heritage and tourist potential, intellectual and creative contribution of many generations to the development of the nation’s material and spiritual culture.
In the Year of Native Land research of the native land received a boost, which will certainly lead to the creation of interesting information resources that reveal both the unknown pages of the history of our country representing different aspects of the life of modern Belarus.
Links to Internet Resources
2018 god v Belarusi – God maloj rodiny (2018 in Belarus – Year of the Small Homeland)
God maloj rodiny. Belteleradiokompaniya (The Year of the Small Homeland. Belteleradiocompany)
God maloj rodiny. Brestskaya oblast (The Year of the Small Homeland. Brest region)
God maloj rodiny. Vitebskaya oblast (The Year of the Small Homeland. Vitebsk region)
God maloj rodiny. Gomelskaya oblast (The Year of the Small Homeland. Gomel region)
God maloj rodiny. Grodnenskaya oblast (The Year of the Small Homeland. Grodno region)
God maloj rodiny. Minskaya oblast (The Year of the Small Homeland. Minsk region)
God maloj rodiny. Mogilevskaya oblast (Year of small country. Mogilev region)