Press releases

MINSK, 20 April (BelTA) – The UNESCO Five Continents Medal will be awarded to outstanding figures of Belarusian art: People’s Artists of Belarus and the USSR composer Igor Luchenok and choreographer Valentin Yelizaryev on 22 April, spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Mironchik told a press briefing on 20 April, BelTA has learned.

The decision to award Igor Luchenok and Valentin Yelizaryev was adopted by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova on 21 March in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the development of international cultural cooperation. Igor Luchenok and Valentin Yelizaryev will be also awarded diplomas on behalf of the UNESCO head.

The official award ceremony will take place at the Belarusian State Music Academy. The artistic career of Igor Luchenok and Valentin Yelizaryev is closely connected with this academy. Igor Luchenok graduated from the academy to become its rector in the 1980s. Valentin Yelizaryev was named professor of the academy in 1995.

It is expected that the awards will be presented by Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alena Kupchyna, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to France, Belarus’ Permanent Representative to UNESCO Pavel Latushko.

The UNESCO Five Continents Medal was instituted in 1996 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the organization. The National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus was awarded the medal in 2014.