Bright light of young talents

In late May, the cleverest and most talented children met the President at the Palace of the Republic

By Igor Kolchenko

Alexander Lukashenko admits that this is one of the most pleasant presidential missions, saying, “At present, our country needs talented and energetic people. Grand plans can only be realised by those who generate new ideas and implement them in life. Our support of talent is an investment into the future.”

Sisters Anya and Alesya Galushkevich, from Mozyr, conquered Ukrainian Lugansk with their acrobatic show. In autumn, the city hosted the Circus Future Festival and our girls took third place. They recollect that their path to the circus was accidental. Five years ago, they saw an advertisement in the street, inviting children to the specialised Arena studio. Since then, they’ve been thankful to their teachers, who have helped them reveal their talent. Their circus life feels like ‘a holiday’.

It seems wonderful that a strong circus school appeared several years ago in a small town. Arena is already known far beyond Belarus. Two 11 year old boys — aerial acrobats Nikita and Stas — won the Russian Minute of Fame TV contest with their unique show....

The President believes that each child has their own talent, which must be noticed and supported in due time. “With this in mind, an efficient system has been established in Belarus, helping identify and develop skills in children and young people. Talented youngsters can rely on targeted support and attention from the state,” Mr. Lukashenko stresses. “Dozens of Olympiads, festivals and contests open wide possibilities for them to reveal themselves. The country provides you with a unique start. Make use of it, to the benefit of yourself and your homeland.  Let your medals and prizes bring real benefit to Belarus.”

“How can the level of Belarusian schooling be assessed?” ponders Education Minister Sergei Maskevich. “We can use average points from testing or can look at how many talented children live in our country. This year, 650,000 pupils took part in subject Olympiads, with 26 winning international Olympiads. This is very prestigious. For example, 80 countries participated in the Physics Olympiad but our boy won.” The Minister easily recollects the name of Andrey Klishin. A database of talented young people has been established in Belarus, with almost 5,000 already listed. All have their progress followed by the state: if any problems arise regarding employment, assistance is then offered.  However, Mr. Maskevich admits that these young people can enter the most prestigious universities worldwide and tend not to need to go job hunting, since employers are queuing up to take on these promising specialists.

One of the youngsters invited to the Palace of the Republic was an 11th grade pupil from Minsk’s Polytechnic Gymnasium #6 — Dima Kabak. He won a silver medal at the International Conference of Young Scientists. His hobby of informatics began in early childhood and later transformed into serious study. Many of us have heard of ‘smart house’ technology, developed by western scientific-research institutions. Dima has his own flat set up in a similar fashion, all paid for on a tight budget. He runs his electrical devices via a computer or via the Internet. Light turns off when Dima leaves, while many other options are available.

Children must be loved. They are talented. All of them!

Заметили ошибку? Пожалуйста, выделите её и нажмите Ctrl+Enter