On March 11-13, there was a meeting of the employees and experts of the project “Development of the Network Capacity of Family Clubs in Chernobyl Area in order to Improve Social and Economic Situation” funded by the EU, as well as heads of the family clubs and representatives of local authorities of Bragin district held at the Green Cross Belarus NGO educational centre who gathered to discuss big events that were planned for April and May 2016.

The first topic to discuss was an exhibition of photo- and artistic plein-airs that had been held in April and August 2015. Works made by photographers and artists reflected the modern life of Bragin district, so the exhibition’s objective was to show Bragin district which lived and kept reviving from the Chernobyl accident. As a result of the discussion, it was determined that in mid-April (presumably, until April 26) the exhibition could be visited at the Recreation Centre and Bragin Historical Museum with art gallery. Then it would be available at local recreation centres and schools of Bragin district. Presentation of the exhibition was planned for April 24 at Bragin Historical Museum during which a meeting with artists and photographers would be held.

Most of the time was devoted to the discussion of the holiday event “Bragin Fair”. One of the main responsible people for the holiday programme was Sergey Dovgulyavets, the head of the “V Krugu Druzey” (“In a Circle of Friends”) family club. He presented a preliminary plan of action for May 8-9, and named groups which would probably participate in the festival. Natalya Svyatkina, the project manager, and Nikolay Yashchuk, the deputy chairman of the executive committee, identified a number of issues that required special attention, especially, issues of accommodation and food, information dissemination, festive decoration of the city, selection of participants of the concert and involvement of local forces to accompany invited guests. During the discussion, responsibilities to organize the event were distributed among the participants of the discussion.

Within the framework of the meeting, an excursion was held at the cultural and recreation complex “Dudutki”. On that day, there were Maslenitsa celebrations (the religious holiday, celebrated during the last week before Great Lent), the aim of which was to get acquainted with experiences and peculiarities of the organization of mass events.

On March 13, Natalya Svyatkina, the project manager, presented a preliminary programme of events for April and May to activists of Bragin district who had been undergoing trainings at the centre. In her speech, she highlighted that the holiday event “Bragin Fair” might become the reference point for revival of the fair tradition in the district. She also outlined a range of issues to be addresses and urged activists not to stand back but to participate in the preparation and holding the festival as volunteers and managers’ assistants, and also actively disseminate information among friends and acquaintances. The activists immediately responded to the appeal and promised to think about helping during the organization of the event.

According to the results of the 3-day work, the participants expressed the hope that all the planned activities would be organized to high standards and would become pleasant experiences.

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This publication has been produced with the supportoftheEuropeanUnion. Responsibility for the content of the publication rests with the Green Cross Belarus NGO, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.