MINSK, 14 March (BelTA) – EU experts commend the significant achievements of Belarus in raising the life safety awareness, Vitaly Novitsky, the official representative of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry, told BelTA after the meeting of the interdepartmental working group of the Eastern Partnership initiative on raising awareness about emergency situations held in Minsk on 14 March.
“This is the first event that gathered experts from the EU, representatives of the Emergencies Ministry, the Education Ministry and the Belarusian Red Cross Society in Belarus to discuss what steps need to be taken to ensure more effective work in this area,” said Vitaly Novitsky, the chairman of the working group. “We are interested in the experience of other countries, because increased civic action and responsibility result in fewer fires and deaths of people,” he added.
The Eastern Partnership program to prevent, prepare and respond to man-made and natural disasters in the member countries is implemented in Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“Interaction with the Eastern Partnership is now in its eighth year. Several projects have been implemented. These include social commercials, a family guide on different emergencies, posters. Now, during the next phase, each country will establish or revise the existing communications strategy in order to work more effectively with people and raise the level of life safety awareness. EU experts commend the significant achievements of Belarus in this area,” said Vitaly Novitsky.