Press releases

VITEBSK, 6 October (BelTA) – The Belarusian city of Polotsk has won an international contest of cross-border cooperation projects in the Tourism category, BelTA learned from the press service of the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

The winners of the international competition were decided by the Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress. The official awards ceremony was held in Lublin, Poland. The international technical assistance project Museum Gates implemented in Polotsk in 2013-2015 was named best in the Tourism category.

“The Museum Gates project envisaged development of new Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus cross-border tourist routes and maps, organization of a promotional tour for travel agencies, fitting of museums with modern computers and special equipment, and participation in study visits to the museums of Polotsk District and those located abroad. All those plans were fulfilled. The museum infrastructure has been improved considerably, our specialists have undergone training to meet present-day standards of museum and tourism services. The museums have bolstered their marketing activities in their work with clients, tour groups. We have also established a cultural dialogue and exchange of experience with Latvia and Lithuania,” the representatives of the Polotsk District Executive Committee noted.

The award presented to the Belarusian project has proven the positive effect of participation in international technical assistance programs and the great tourism potential of the region that continues to be developed even after the end of the project.

The Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress (EEIC), founded in Lublin in 2012, was the extension of the idea of the Eastern Partnership Culture Congress held in Lublin a year before. At that time, artists, cultural managers and animators, representatives of ministries, local governments, non-governmental organizations, academics and the media from the Eastern Partnership and the European Union, as well as the Russian Federation and other European states (17 countries all together), jointly developed recommendations regarding cultural cooperation between the EaP and the EU. The EEIC aims at inspiring more effective and sustainable cross-border collaboration, strengthening development cooperation, and stimulating dialogue between local and regional authorities.