Spring is said to have a female face, which is why Women’s Day is celebrated at the beginning of the first spring month. On March 8th, the President of Belarus traditionally gives a reception dedicated to International Women’s Day. This year was no exception. The theme of the reception was the growing role of women in public life and in political decision making. The state is obliged to take care of those who raise children and work hard. The article in our magazine, Honourable Mission, investigates this theme further, as do a range of other articles about talented and successful Belarusian women.
Life doesn’t stand still and contemporary teachers and schoolchildren are preparing for the time when all textbooks will be contained in a single electronic device. Some are concerned about the disappearance of physical books and about whether the fragile souls of our pupils won’t be diminished by their loss. These issues should be pondered seriously, and our Lessons in the Electronic Dimension explores this topic.
While we can still argue about whether we need electronic textbooks, the luxurious Belarusian High-Tech Park is already a reality, and a proven success. Due mainly to the HTP, Belarus is becoming a major exporter of innovative solutions, as described in the article, Materialisation of Intellect, which deals primarily with the country’s consistently following an innovative path of economic development. Within the next five years, the fields of space and information-communication will become priorities, along with bio- and nano-technologies.
This path will be a financially rewarding one and, according to the experts, within five years’ time, the Belarusian IT industry will bring in $7bn of revenue annually. These targets have been outlined in a national programme for creating world-class software development centres in Belarus.
Meanwhile, great hopes are also being pinned on international trade, with exports a major long-term priority of the state. Belarusian diplomacy, which has set primarily foreign economic goals, is intensifying its efforts in Latin America. This region — with a huge and dynamically developing market — is becoming a very attractive business partner for Belarus. Foreign trade will be reinforced with such countries as Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba, which are viewed as a foothold on the path to conquering the whole of Latin America. Ten years ago this region accounted for just 1 percent of Belarusian exports while now this figure stands at 3 percent. That’s rather good, taking into account the distances involved and that ties sometimes have to be established from scratch. The goal now, of course, is far more ambitious, and our Discovery of Latin America is dedicated to this topic.
Major tasks and responsibilities have been placed on the new Cabinet of Ministers. The deputies adopted the final version of the programme of Government work for the next five years at the last meeting of the seventh extraordinary session of the House of Representatives. Belarus’ Prime Minister, Mikhail Myasnikovich, assured the deputies that all their proposals, of which there were 60, had been taken into account. The new Cabinet plans to fundamentally change work practices in order to encourage initiative and entrepreneurial spirit. The Legal Assessment Needed article tells us what other measures, relating to the professional completion of numerous tasks, are expected of the new Government by parliamentarians.
Spring, which has a female face, has finally arrived. Specialists of the National Statistical Committee of Belarus recently compiled a portrait of the average Belarusian woman. The picture was interesting and included a few surprises. According to the researchers, the average Belarusian woman is 42 years old, married with children, and living in a city. You can read more statistics in our article, Real Compliance.
Statistics usually reveal concrete facts, including those relating to the world of art. Our Labyrinths of Creative Fate investigates how the artist Tatiana Malysheva has managed to bring a nostalgic mood to her images, inspired by her own perception of life.
These all prove our thesis that everything proceeds from life, including creative activity. In spring, life is filled with a special mood and hopeful anticipation, which brings a peculiar deepness.
BY Viktor Kharkov,magazine editor
Беларусь. Belarus
