Belarus' Vitebsk joins UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities

Vitebsk became the first Belarusian city to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, Belarus' Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Kravchenko said at the event to mark this achievement on 18 October, BelTA has learned.

“An important decision was made to include the first Belarusian city, Vitebsk, to the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. This is an acknowledgment of the efforts that Vitebsk has put in the process of ensuring continuous education of the population. This leads to the achievement of one of the Sustainable Development Goals [the Goal on Quality Education],” said Oleg Kravchenko

According to the deputy minister, the inclusion of Vitebsk in the global network will contribute to the development of “creative” economy of the city. “We hope that other Belarusian cities will follow suit. We hope that in the foreseeable future (about a year) we will see more cities join this authoritative, prestigious network of UNESCO,” Oleg Kravchenko said. The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is designed to promote their development. Cities and communities are engaged in international dialogue on policy, experimental research, capacity-building and exchange of experiences, effectively using the methodology of learning cities to ensure access for their residents to lifelong learning. The network operates under the auspices of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (Hamburg, Germany) and unites the cities from more than 50 countries around the world.
Source: https://eng.belta.by/society/view/belarus-vitebsk-joins-unesco-global-network-of-learning-cities-115809-2018/