People’s cultural diplomacy comes to play a bigger role

People’s cultural diplomacy comes to play a bigger role today, Maxim Dubenok, Chairman of the Belarusian society for relations with compatriots abroad Radzima, told a press conference, BelTA has learnt.

According to various estimates, up to 3.5 million Belarusians live abroad, the majority of them live on the territory of Russia. Maxim Dubenok noted that Belarusians living in Russia are willing to cooperate in preserving Belarusian traditions and promoting Belarus in Russia. 

“Belarusians living in Russia seek to engage young people, not only ethnic Belarusians, but all young people interested in the Belarusian culture. Promoting cooperation between the youth of the two countries is among the biggest priorities,” Chairman of the Radzima NGO said. 

Work is underway to return home national historical and cultural valuables that were lost or taken outside Belarus. These efforts allow preserving the cultural heritage of Belarusians.

Maxim Dubenok drew attention to the fact that organizations representing ethnic minorities, NGOs and government agencies closely collaborate to engage and consolidate all ethnic minorities. As a result, Belarus’ practices aroused interest in European research centers. “For example, a book about national minorities of Belarus was published after Germany had studied Belarus’ practices in this field. The presentation of the book is scheduled for April,” he said.