A kick-off meeting of the participants of the international project on climate management was held at Yanka Kupala State University

The participants of the Erasmus+ CBHE action “Synergy of educational, scientific, management and industrial components for climate management and climate change prevention”/ CLIMAN took part in the online kick-off meeting with partners.
The aim of the international project is to help universities in Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus become centers for the development of research in the field of climate management to accelerate integration into the global climate market and to meet the requirements of global climate regulation by acquiring the best European practices in the field of prevention, adaptation and mitigation of climate change
The participants of the first meeting were greeted by the project coordinator, director of the Netherlands Academy of Business, professor of finance Jan van Zwieten, co-coordinator, head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ukrainian University "KROK" Andrey Lotarev, head of the Erasmus + national office in Belarus Oksana Minich. During the online seminar, representatives of 12 partner universities made presentations of the project teams.
The Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Ecology Alexander Karevsky and the Head of the International Projects Department Alesya Belko spoke about the main tasks of Yanka Kupala State University, which are planned to be solved during the implementation of the project.
It is expected that one of the results of the project will be the creation of a Climate Management Consulting Center at Kupala University, which work will be aimed at developing recommendations for the industrial, transport, energy, tourism sectors and local authorities in the field of prevention, adaptation and mitigation of climate change consequences.
During the online seminar, the schedule of upcoming events and the criteria for the quality of their implementation were discussed and agreed.

Representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno took part in the final conference on the project of transboundary cooperation in the field of ecology

During the event, the results of the project were summed up and a strategy for further cooperation was proposed on the issues of combating the spread of dangerous plant species in the Belarusian-Lithuanian сross-border region.
The partners of the ENI-LLB-1-207 project "Reduction of Negative Impact of Alien Invasive Plant Species on Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing in Cross-Border Region of Lithuania-Belarus" are the Administration of the Municipality of Varena region, the Administration of the Dzukiy National Park and the Chepkeliai Nature Reserve, as well as Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, the Department of Agriculture and Food of Grodno Regional Executive Committee, State Environmental Institution “Republican Landscape Reserve“ Ozery ”. The final conference with the participation of representatives of the two countries was held online.
Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Biological and Landscape Diversity of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Svidinsky, Deputy Chairman of Grodno Regional Executive Committee Valery Balashov took part in the event from the Belarusian side. On behalf of the Lithuanian partners, Gedeminas Rasčius, the Director of the Natural Heritage Fund, made a welcoming speech.
In his speech, the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Ecology of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Alexander Karevsky, expressed confidence that the results achieved during the project implementation will be good motivation for further cooperation.
“We managed to start forming an ecological mentality among the local population of the сross-border areas in order that they promptly notify us and environmental organizations about finding new kinds of alien plants foci. To prevent further penetration of these plant species into wider territories, timely localization of these foci is very important”, - noted Alexander Karevsky.
Within the framework of the ENI-LLB-1-207 project "Reduction of Negative Impact of Alien Invasive Plant Species on Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing in Cross-Border Region of Lithuania-Belarus", the issues of joint organization of work on the control and destruction of invasive plant species of the borderlands were resolved, options for joint work with authorities, land users and the local community were proposed. In addition, field excursions were conducted to the places of growth of such invasive plant species, as Acer negundo, Impatiens, Echinocystis, Canadian goldenrod, giant goldenrod and others. The project participants mastered the methods of species identification, acquired skills in working with the online questionnaire for the registration of invasive plants.
During the final conference, it was noted that the cross-border cooperation project has been successfully implemented and it is necessary to continue working in this direction.

Institute for Professional Skills Upgrading and Retraining at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno has launched the second stream of free online courses

The trainees began to study English, information security, legal, business and financial literacy, as well as energy and resource saving in everyday life.
The courses are the part of the international project "Enchancement of lifelong learning in Belarus". As part of the project, the Institute for Professional Skills Upgrading and Retraining at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno became one of six regional advanced training institutes, on the basis of which there were created the conditions to increase the level of knowledge of citizens in various aspects of social life and economy.
The head of the project "Enchancement of lifelong learning in Belarus" in Grodno, the Director of the Institute for Professional Skills Upgrading and Retraining at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Elena Kontseal said that active interaction of Belarusian and European universities in creating a wide range of educational courses for the population of various regions in our country began in 2018 year. Thanks to this, it became possible to expand the availability of additional education for residents of different parts of Belarus.
- We can already talk about the first results of the project, - said Elena Kontseal. - More than 100 applications were submitted for participation in the first stream of free distance learning courses, which were launched on the basis of our institute in November 2019. For several months, there was online training in 5 different areas. All developed courses are aimed at gaining practical skills and competencies that are in demand in everyday life. For example, the course of English will teach you how to maintain a conversation on everyday topics, go on a trip on your own, and the course on energy and resource saving in everyday life will teach you how to reduce the cost of utility bills. The experience of European universities in Great Britain, Spain, Latvia, Sweden was used in the development of the courses.
The recruitment for the courses of the second stream took place in record time. There were a lot of people who wanted to be among the listeners, which underlines the interest of the residents of the Grodno region in additional education and their willingness to study using modern information and communication technologies.
270 people of different ages - from 17 to 57 years old - were enrolled in free online courses of the second stream. Most of the students have higher education and live both in Grodno and in Krasnoselsk, Gozha, Novogrudok, Korelichi and other districts of the Grodno region. Three foreign citizens who live in Italy and Ukraine are also enrolled. Among the course participants there are 11 temporarily unemployed, 3 pensioners, 21 students and 14 young mothers on maternity leave. The rest work in different spheres of the Grodno region.
On September 28, an organizational meeting of the project participants took place, during which the listeners were able to get answers to their questions and get to know the teachers. Further, for 4 months, students will form additional competencies in the direction they have chosen. Based on the results of the training, a certificate of an international project is issued.

An on-line meeting of the partners of the international technical assistance project devoted to the revival of the traditions of beekeeping was held at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno

The participants of the project, which started in August this year, have joined efforts to preserve the traditions of beekeeping in the Belarusian-Lithuanian region.
The international technical assistance project "Preservation of Ethnocultural Heritage and Tourism Development in the Historic Region Famous for Hollow Tree Beekeeping" is implemented within the framework of the Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus Cross-Border Cooperation Program for 2014-2020 and is funded by the European Union. The main goal is to preserve and revive the ancient tradition of hollow tree beekeeping and use it for the development of tourism in Dzukia cross-border region and Grodno region.
The kick-off meeting of the project partners was held at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno in on-line mode. The event was attended by the representatives of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, including the project manager, the Head of the Department of Zoology and Human and Animal Physiology Olga Yanchurevich, as well as other Belarusian partners – the representatives of the Belarusian Public Association “Ecological Initiative” and State environmental institution “Republican Landscape Reserve “Ozery”. There were discussed the activities planned for the near future with the Lithuanian partners of the project, represented by the Natural Heritage Fund, the Administration of the Dzukija National Park and the Chepkeliai Nature Reserve.
Thus, the project participants intend to create a cross-border tourist route-guide, which will present the beekeeping traditions typical for the Belarusian-Lithuanian region. In addition, within the framework of the project, old bees will be repaired and new ones will be created in the cross-border region, which will confirm the importance of beekeeping for the local economy. There are also activities planned to teach this ancient craft to those who are interested in preserving the traditions of hollow tree beekeeping. It is planned to organize thematic festivals, which, as the project participants expect, will become the hallmark of the cross-border region.
All planned activities of the international technical assistance project "Preservation of Ethnocultural Heritage and Tourism Development in the Historic Region Famous for Hollow Tree Beekeeping " will be implemented until July 31, 2022. It is expected that the project will contribute to an increase in the number of visitors to the Dzukia National Park, State environmental institution “Republican Landscape Reserve “Ozery” and the cross-border region as a whole, which will have a positive impact on its socio-economic development.