Maria Sharapova Supports Talented Youth from Chernobyl-affected Regions

Belarusian State University and Belarusian State Academy of Arts have announced a competition for Maria Sharapova Foundation scholarships. The targeted scholarships are a joint initiative of the Maria Sharapova Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where the tennis player serves as a Goodwill Ambassador.

The programme will enable 12 talented youths from Chernobyl-affected regions in Belarus to undertake a full course of study at two leading universities in the country. The $3,500 scholarships will be provided during the academic yearand will supplement other stipends.

Maria Sharapova explained her desire to help talented youths from these regions: she has always dreamed of making a personal contribution to the rehabilitation of this region, which she is personally connected to. The world tennis star was born in 1987 in the Siberian town of Niagan - her parents had moved there from the city of Gomel, escaping from the fall-out of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

"Providing talented young people with an opportunity to attain a higher education is part of the effort to create a better future for the affected regions", Maria Sharapova believes.

Full-time first-year students at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and the Humanities Faculty at Belarusian State University (majoring in design), who have suffered from the Chernobyl disaster or who have lived for at least 10 years in the territories of Luninets, Pinsk, Stolin Districts in Brest Region, Bragin, Buda-Koshelev, Vetka, Dobrush, Yelsk, Kalinkovichi, Kormiany, Lelchitsy, Narovlya, Rechitsa, Rogachev, Khoiniki, Chechersk Districts in Gomel Region, and Bykhov, Kostiukovichi, Krasnopolye, Slavgorod, and Cherikov Districts in Mogilev Region are eligible to apply. Applicants should have a strong grade average in their secondary school or specialized secondary school graduation diploma. They should also be active in social, scientific and/or volunteer activities.

The scholarships are awarded on the basis of competition results for the whole study period.

In September 2008, Maria Sharapova announced the launch of a $210,000 scholarship programme for students from Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus. The projected duration of the programme is 8 years. Three incoming students will be awarded scholarships each year, over an initial four-year period.

As of 2007, the Maria Sharapova Foundation has already contributed $100,000 to youth oriented projects in the Chernobyl-affected regions of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. $35,000 was allocated to three Belarusian projects implemented in Gomel Region.

The selection commission, comprising representatives from the two participating universities, UNDP, and the Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations, will draw up a list of 10 contenders by 15 September, which will then be submitted to the Maria Sharapova Foundation. The Foundation will select the scholarship winners no later than 1 October 2009.

UNESCO s "Memory of the World" Programme - a Catalyst for International Cooperation

Protecting the world's heritage of books, artworks and monuments of history and science.

In his own time, a certain descendant of the Riurik dynasty and the Chernigovsky princes was a famous artist and politician. If he had created a single musical composition, his name would be remembered by generations to come. This composition is a solemn, grand polonaise entitled 'Farewell to the Motherland'. Today, UNESCO's efforts at preserving outstanding archive and library collections worldwide, especially through the Memory of the World Programme, are helping to immortalize its author, Michal Kleofas Oginsky. The Memory of the World Programme was launched in 1992. It aims at preserving valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide, and widening access to them. This heritage reflects the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures and is a mirror of the world and its memory. To date, the Memory of the World Register includes 158 entries: archival and library collections and manuscripts from 67 countries.

One of the major projects undertaken by Russian and Belarusian archivists and supported by the UNESCO Moscow Office concerns the works of the composer, musician, and political figure, Michal Kleofas Oginsky (1765-1833).

The Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents produced an archival inventory of his collection, consisting of 5,930 pages of documents, letters, music manuscripts, drawings and literary works, and copied it onto microfilm. This was handed over to the Belarusian State Museum of Theatrical and Musical Culture for full digitalization.

The digitalization of Oginsky's collection has opened it up to archivists and scholars from all over the world. It has also strengthened cooperation between Russian and Belarusian archivists, and is a step towards the realization of UNESCO's policy of open access to archive and library collections.

Another example of international cooperation between archivists and librarians is the Virtual Reconstruction of the Archive and Library of the Radziwill family of Nesvizh and the preparation of the nomination dossier for this collection, for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register. The project has reinvigorated cooperation between archivists, librarians and museum specialists in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, as well as contributing to the creation of a unified approach in preserving the collection. The establishment of an international working group created new opportunities for developing new relationships within the archive and library community.

UNESCO and Belarus: 55 Years of Successful Cooperation

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945, to serve as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter for the creation of universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. As such, it functions as a clearing house for the dissemination and exchange of information and knowledge, helping Member States to build their human and institutional potential in diverse fields. UNESCO seeks to promote international cooperation among its Member States and Associate Members in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. Given the strategy and scope of its activities, UNESCO is strongly committed to the Millennium Development Goals, especially those focusing on reducing poverty, promoting universal primary education, gender equality in education, and sustainable development.

Belarus, which joined UNESCO in 1954, has a history of successful cooperation with UNESCO within all of the Organization's fields of competence.

Belarus has made significant efforts in applying UNESCO's policies in promoting cultural and natural heritage. There are four objects in Belarus which are inscribed in the World Heritage List. One represents the world's natural heritage - the Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Biatowieza Forest. The three other objects represent the world's cultural heritage: the Mir Castle Complex (included in 2000), the Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (2005), and the Struve Geodetic Arc (2005) which crosses several countries: Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and Ukraine.

The UNESCO portal www.unesco.org occupies a special place in the worldwide web. This resource provides the fullest and the most extensive information about all UN activities related to education, science and culture.

The UNESCO world heritage web portal http://whc.unesco.org is designed to inform visitors about UNESCO's efforts to protect and preserve the cultural, natural and documentary heritage of mankind.