News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 17 March (BelTA) – A nomination file on the spiritual legacy of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk will be submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Center for consideration in 2016, Oksana Smotrenko, the deputy head of the division for the protection of historical and cultural heritage at the Belarusian Culture Ministry, said at a press conference, BelTA has learned.

The compilation of the file took quite a long time. The document is almost through the editing stage. It will be submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Center this year. The nomination file describes the unique architectural and artistic elements of the 12th-century Holy Transfiguration Church.

Plans have also been made to submit the cross-border nomination file The Augustow Canal – A Work of Man and Nature to UNESCO in 2017.

Oksana Smotrenko added that the tradition of celebrating Icon of the Mother of God of Budslav was nominated to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015. The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee will consider the nomination file in November 2016.

Last year, Belarus submitted proposals to update the Belarusian part of the preliminary World Heritage List. The proposals are posted on the UNESCO website.

Nomination of Belarusian sites to the World Heritage List contributes to the promotion of Belarus’ historical and cultural heritage in the world and enhances the country’s image. The European Heritage Days in Belarus celebrated in autumn every year has already become a traditional event. Besides, in 2015 Belarus joined the project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Community-Led Urban Strategies in Historic Towns” (COMUS).