Events

MINSK, 13 May (BelTA) - A regular meeting of the CIS Permanent Council of Plenipotentiary Representatives to the CIS statutory and other bodies will be held in Minsk on 19 May, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The meeting will be attended by Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev. The plenipotentiaries will discuss the status of implementation of the interstate program The CIS Capitals of Culture.

The program was prepared within the framework of the Year of Historical and Cultural Heritage announced in the CIS in 2011 and developed at the initiative of the CIS Council on Humanitarian Cooperation, the CIS Intergovernmental Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation and the CIS Council for Cultural Cooperation.

This document suggests an annual concentration of creative resources, usually in two states where one non-metropolitan city is chosen. Its main tasks are to promote horizontal ties and intensify art exchanges, strengthen cultural and humanitarian potential of the territories and cities of the CIS states, including the assistance to the development of their infrastructure, and overcoming geographically-associated inequality of the territories in terms of access to cultural assets, and also to stimulate the growth of tourist flow, and promote the interstate exchange of experience in the field of cultural policy.

The decision to designate the capitals of culture is taken by the Council of Heads of State on the proposal of the Council for Humanitarian Cooperation. In 2011-2012, the capitals were Ulyanovsk (Russia) and Gomel (Belarus), Astana (Kazakhstan) and Mary (Turkmenistan). These cities held more than 100 major joint activities. In 2013-2014, the program was implemented in Gabala (Azerbaijan), Gyumri (Armenia), Mogilev (Belarus), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Osh (Kyrgyzstan). In 2015, the CIS Capitals of Culture are Voronezh (Russia) and Kulyab (Tajikistan).

The CIS plenipotentiaries will discuss the positive experience and problematic aspects of the program and outline the measures for its further development.