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Practice Makes Perfect is the title of the 2007 World Bank Small Grants Program winner in Belarus and, at the same time, the belief shared by the project participants. The program provides grants to civil society organizations to promote community development, dialogue and co­operation . Over its ten-year history, the SmGP in Belarus has given support to 60 projects which have been com­petitively selected from more than 560 proposals.

The grants vary from USD 5,000 to 10,000 and require quick implementation. Given precise knowledge of a concrete situation , a clear action plan, human resources and the stakeholders ' support, this limited amount, however, proves highly effective in a matter of months. "Our project has helped attain several objectives at a time. The participating young people with disabilities have become stronger, acquired various working skills and gained self-confidence ... The local citizens have develo­ped a feeling for being a community. They have convened for the first time to discuss common challenges and seek solutions", says one of the project coordinators.

Given below is an overview of six civil society projects supported by the World Bank Small Grants Program 2007. Five of them have been selected through a national competition and the sixth has been short-listed at an international contest among twenty countries .

NB: Effective 2008, the Small Grants Program has become the World Bank Civil Society Fund . The Program's basic requirements remain unchanged.

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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

We know from our school days that the cobbler should stick to his last. We also know that every trade has a purpose. A good deal of high school students, however, has a vague idea of their professional future. As a result, some blindly go with the fashion flow, others let the chips fall where they may. There are also those who simply seek colleges that offer the least entrance competition ... Such 'choices' can consequently become a recipe for disaster for both these students and the society in general.

There are, however, plenty of methods and recommen­dations in the modern world which help provide career guidance to young people. These recommendations have laid the foundation for the Practice Makes Perfect project, implemented by a POST Educational Center CSO and supported by the World Bank Small Grants Program.

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"The project has mainly focused on empowering young ~ people to obtain knowledge and skills needed for profes­sional self-realization and building a successful career~ . • says Olga Sayevets, Youth Programs Coordinator for POST Educational Center.

Three Roads, One Direction The Practice Makes Perfect project ran from August 2007 through February 2008 and consisted of three program sections: an informational and educational program for secondary school class teachers in the City of Minsk which aimed to tell them about various career guidance methods; a series of programs for high school and university students focused on career building and man­agement; and a pool of mini-projects which centered on career education for college students and career de­velopment for high school students. The Practice Makes Perfect project has covered 15 class teachers in the City of Minsk, 40 high school students and 60 university students.

Non-classical Class Teachers By definition , class teachers are supposed to 'teach ' and, therefore , guide and direct. Oftentimes, their guidance is based on their personal experience and worldly wisdom. Methods employed by school mentors rarely have a pattern which would comprehensively help students choose their career. Nevertheless, there is a method to modern career guid­ance. One of the formulas , for instance, helps build a desired outcome . Its components are "I Want" , "I Can" and "I Must" . After learning all methods and formulas , you still have to logically connect them and perform the main task - properly teach the basics of career management to school students. The class teachers covered by the project have therefore systemized their previous experi­ence and gained more knowledge about various career guidance techniques.

_ I Want To Be a Programmer, Not an Astronaut • A poll conducted among the students has shown that

many misjudge their capabilities and misconceive the .. trade they plan to ply. Here's, incidentally, the latest top­

ten of popular professions taken from the survey: Programmer, Psychotherapist, Lawyer, Economist, Journalist. .. The formerly attractive occupations of a doctor or a teacher are no longer in vogue. Boys don 't care about the stars in the sky, but dream about the Star Factory on TV. Girls gravitate towards beauty salons and fashion catwalks . The majority has a faint idea of their internal and external resources and avoids assessing themselves , let alone the present labor market and its future .

Life as Guidance Much will have to be done in universities. Some sophomores or even juniors are still fuzzy about what they are going to do when they graduate. To change the situation , the Practice Makes Perfect project has embraced educational and training programs, master classes and mini-projects focused on helping college students build and manage their careers . As a part of a career planning exercise, the students have participated in live action role games - various snapshots of the job­seeking reality which tested their skills at writing resumes , being interviewed, etc. The final event of the educational and training program , a Building and Managing a Professional Career workshop was held in Minsk in November 2007 under the auspices of the Russian State Social University. The workshop offered the following topical units: The Conditions, Peculiarities and Trends of the Labor Market in Belarus; the Criteria of a Successful Professional Career, Its Planning and Implementation; and Opportunities for College Students' Professional Growth. The seminar also included a project unit on empowering students to properly approach career choices and elaborate

personal strategies for professional development and self -realization .

A Chain Reaction The Practice Makes Perfect outcome has become the subject of a March 2008 roundtable discussion, Opportunities for Young People's Career Management. The event was coupled with a project fair which included presentations of the project-sponsored activities by the participants and a number of working group debates on the substance, form and methods of providing a career education to high school and university students . "The Practice Makes Perfect has engendered other projects prepared by the students themselves," says Olga Sayevets. " For example, the International University of Labor and Social Relations has come up with their own project, You Always Have a Choice, Just Get to Know Yourself. A similar effort is currently realized by the Belarusian National Technical University. After shooting a film about the job-seeking challenges, they are now expecting the inception of another promising project which should set up an employment agency. The most enthusiastic students have acquired enough knowledge to go on and teach their peers . We are happy to see that our work has been fulfilling. It has triggered a chain reac­tion , and it means that the Practice Makes Perfect will snowball into new endeavors even after completion ."

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I AM FOR CLEAN SMILOVICHI

It's easy to love the humankind, but it's hard to love a human. It's easy to declare your love for nature and never clean up after a picnic. We may live in a big world, but this world's right here, outside your window.

There is a small town of Smilovichi in the Chervensky District of the Minsk Oblast, Belarus. The 5,000 residents who enjoy living in this cozy little place must be likewise fond of the picturesque surroundings. Visitors from the capital also like coming over for outings, but the environment is not properly organized for such activities and the nature for the present has to bear the brunt. The tourist infrastructure is yet to be developed, and there are a number of reasons why. Smilovichi boasts an eventful 525-year-long history. The town used to grow together with the famous gentry families of Sapega, Zavish and Oghinsky. It hosts parts of the Maniushko and Vankovichi Manor, a vivid example of the 19th century estate architecture . Haim Soutine, a Paris Painting trend originator, is also a Smilovichi townsman by birth . The local 80-year-old walk mill , one of a kind in both Belarus

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.. and the neighboring ex-Soviet republics , continues to _ apply an ancient technology to make valenki ("felt boofs) ~ • your first choice in frosty weather ...

Sustainable Development A sustainable development strategy began to emerge here in August 2006 in the form of a Local Agenda 21 when the town 's teachers, intellectuals, religious leaders, farmers , journalists and retirees built an initiative group. The team started with an I am for Clean Smilovichi project which was prepared jointly with Education without Borders international CSO and supported by the World Bank Small Grants Program. The project ran from May through November 2007.

"This project has fostered the local dialogue about the unresolved problems and built a platform for new initiatives coming from youngsters , teachers and other community members who are now involved in both planning and implementation activities focused on improving the environment, " says Marina Malinina, Project Manager and Chairperson of Education without Borders. "This dialogue has become a reality mainly thanks to a contest of environmental mini-projects held among the local community and schools . As a result , we have identified new initiative groups and active citizens, and strengthened contacts with the District authorities."

The project has produced three training workshops on the environmental research , river monitoring and basics of sustainable development as well as on both general and specific methods of project preparation. Importantly enough, the initiative groups had a chance to put theory to practice when they implemented seven mini-projects.

The Volma River is Calling Environmental experts are not alone in their quest to protect nature in Smilovichi. Watching out for them is

- alsq the Gr~en Patrol - an initiative group of students from • the local Secondary School #1. The teenagers have

personally developed a logo and an info package which ' iRcludes posters , leaflets and stickers. There is plenty

of creativity in their River Volma's Appeal to Residents of Smilovichi: "Dear neighbors, I am appealing to you. Spare me! Please take away your garbage! Don't pour shampoos and detergents in my water! Don't park your cars on my banks and- puh-leez- don't wash them here! Your next generations will need a clean and healthy river!"

The Volma River is Calling is the title of an action which has helped clean up the river banks and raise public awareness with regard to the environmental issues. The action has brought together the Green Patrol, tourists and youth camp volunteers.

The project has also paid for the testing chemicals needed for a research which aims to identify the chemical composition of the Volma River and the town's subsoil water. The first estimates have demonstrated that the water in Smilovichi could be much better. The tests at the local shallow wells have shown significantly excessive content of nitrates. The participants have drawn a map of unsafe shallow wells and proposed a number of solutions. One of the options is to build a centralized water supply, and the local Township Council has already received initial allocations for this effort.

The Green Patrol activists, local school teachers and members of the Local Agenda 21 initiative group have visited the Avgustovsky Canal to learn the environment­friendly ways of using the water resources for tourist purposes. This educative mini-project has the same name - The Avgustovsky Canal.

The Pathways of the Monks Rich cultural and historical heritage of the Chervensky

District along with its picturesque environment present suitable cond itions for the development of agro- and ecotourism. Unfortunately, this potential remains almost untapped. In 2006, the local activists and Agroecotourism NGO mapped out a green tour route, The Pathways of the Riding Monks , but someone still had to test it. This work was partly done under The Pathways of the Monks mini­project by a group of young cyclists from Smilovichi who had previously participated in an international environ­mental cycling race . The youngsters photographed a section of the route and provided recommendations for its improvement. The green tour route now includes: the Smilovichi Library; a late 19th century palace and park; a memorial to two thousand Jews executed during World War II; an old Jewish cemetery; the street where the world-famous artist Haim Soutine was born and an S. Maniushko museum in the town of Oziorny.

Clean Smilovichi Means Clean Belarus Environmental challenges of the native land concern young environmental ists from an Ecotopic club organized at the Secondary School # 1 three years ago. Assisted by Antonina Molchan , the club's leader and Children 's Library's Director, these young people have prepared an Eco Echo mini-project. The project involved four vigorous voluntary actions. The club members visited spontaneous dumpsites, photographed the garbage and cleared it away whenever they could. Sometimes the youngsters handed the garbage to its negligent owners to teach them some responsibility for the environment they lived in and spur them into action . The young people toured the local tannery to learn the basics of the tanning technology as well as to find out how the factory applied the environmental standards and where it dumped its waste . They also distributed leaflets among the local community and public utilities staff; they held a My Town in 2017 drawing contest and A Second Life of a Plastic Bottle craftsmanship competition which encouraged further

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debates about the recycling of the packaging material _ 4li. !...

and sorted garbage collection . •

The Environmental Trail Students and teachers from the Secondary School #2 have physically made a path to the environmental knowl­edge. Led by the school 's Biology Teacher Tatiana Belazorchik, they prepared and implemented The Environmental Trail mini-project. "It turned out a tough task," says Marina Malinina. "We had to map out the route very carefully and make sure the terrain was passable . We also had to clear the garbage away, produce and install both information and warning stands, plants trees , clean the access to the spring as well as take care of many other things. The project participants have successfully done everything we planned ." The environ­mental trail runs alongside the Volma River, across Smilovichi and many interesting places which present an asset to the environmental education . It includes nine campsites , and each of them helps learn more about the natural phenomena and provides an insight into the human factor 's impact on the environment.

Awareness From the Local Agenda 21 perspective, it would be important to wage vigorous information campaigns and involve as many interested people as possible . The town , however, has no newspaper of its own. The participants have therefore decided to set up an information stand in Smilovichi to provide updates on the activities of the Local Agenda 21 initiative group, the Green Patrol operations and other environmental initiatives. This idea has laid the foundation for another mini-project, Smilovichi Supports Sustainable Development, suggested and authored by Natalia Shilina.

The Young People Choose ... The Smilovichi Agricultural Professional Lyceum has been taking care of the nearby park for several years

110\N, but ~hat the staff and students do is often undone • by the townsfolk and , sometimes, by the students.

Getting people to change takes time, and the "beauty-' · sased education" persists. In an effort "to make the park

interesting and attractive for students", the lyceum teachers and students have initiated a mini-project, A Recreation Area for the Younger Generation. They have made a new design for the park which involves, among other things, building an alumni and freshmen alley. The implementation will certainly take years , but in the meantime the participants are helping the local townsfolk to develop the feeling of togetherness by planting trees side by side with each other. Involved are more than 80 people , planted are 120 trees.

Actions Speak Louder The final roundtable has summed up the results of the I am for Clean Smilovichi project and moderated the discussions of the next plans. "The project has primarily resulted in stirring up the local community and jointly seeking solutions to the town 's environmental prob­lems, increasing the number of the initiative groups and building contacts between these organizations as we ll as their contacts with the local authorities , "Marina Malinina stressed. "The project has spawned four new initiatives in Secondary Schools ##1 and 2, the Agricultural Lyceum and the Youth Group. The more experienced Local Agenda 21 initiative group has benefited from the new ideas and suggestions. Most importantly, the project has helped make concrete and pragmatic steps to address the environmental challenges. Actions speak louder than words, and the local community now takes the initiative group seriously enough. The people have seen examples of how the local problems can really be solved. " The project is complete , but the process it has initiated cannot be stopped. There are plans to develop youth ecotourism in the territory of the Chervensky District. organize volunteer environmental camps together with

the Green Patrol members, continue the water testing and improvement initiative in Smilovichi and expand the youth self-organization and self-employment programs.

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MILASHKI- CLEAN WATER

"You are happy when you are understood .. . " This phrase was once said in a famous Soviet movie and has since been a popular quotation . Understanding is a key to many problems. If a man tries to understand a fellow creature, an adult or a child , if he wants to know the world, he will sooner or later understand that good can conquer evil and beauty can save the world. You don 't even have to display heroism - all it takes is helping an orphan pick up the garbage on the lawn or helping an old woman across the road .

Let's Build a World Fit for Children! The members of an Understanding international CSO whose mission is to professionally build a world fit for children in complicated situations seek to live up to what is declared by their name. They have co-founded the Agreement of Belarusian NGOs Working for Children , the 2006-2010 Children of Belarus Program and a number of national and international projects . Understanding solves the problems of social orphanhood , prevents child abuse and neglect and creates a friendly social environment for them. The members organize camps ,

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seminars , trainings, conferences and inter~isciplinc:r~

consultations ; they develop new childhood protection • technologies and participate in the activities of the Inter­national Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and ' Neglect (ISPCAN).

Trust Engenders Responsibility The Understanding CSO has since 2004 been building its oasis of understanding in a village of Milashki , which is bound to become the base for a series of Trust Engenders Responsibility integration camps for orphan children. In April through November 2007, the Understanding implemented a Milashki - Clean Water project which was supported by the World Bank Small Grants Program . "The project included a Clean Water program camp in a village of Milashki in the Braslavsky District," says Andrey Makhanko, the Understanding's Chairman of the Board. "Participating in the camp activities were 72 people (20 adults and 52 children), a mixed group of urban and country children and kids from orphanages. " The Milashki camp newspaper reported an atmosphere conducive to a true oasis of understanding . Most articles were written by the participating children. The campers had found a healthy combination of work and leisure and , as a result , they cleaned the lakeside, shallow wells and influent brook. To clean the wells and two dumpsites, the children used the help of the local community as well as of a professional bulldozer operator and a diver." The logistic help coming from the local partners was very important," says Andrey Makhanko. "The Rural Council 's Executive Committee provided necessary lumber. Together with the District Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Inspection , the Committee also helped plan the camp activities, organize roundtables and invite participants. This assistance was indispensable." The project brought together people from the City of Braslav and the villages of Daliokiye, Milashki , Boghino, Jarneliki and Bobyli .

• The campers have gained hands-on environmental experience and , as Andrey Makhanko puts it, "an ability to build the environmental component of a humane world

' (Jesigned for children in complicated situations. " The project has eventually reached out far beyond its participants and spontaneously involved more than 1 ,500 people who reside in Milashki and other villages under the Daliokovsky Rural Council. Not only have these people bettered their environment and made their place more comfortable for their children - they can see now how much depends on their social activity when it comes to improving their neighborhood. The project has given more than forty Daliokovsky residents a chance to discuss ways of solving their every­day problems with national sustainable development experts during two roundtables: Possible Environmental Actions in Daliokovsky and Local Sustainable Develop­ment Agenda as a Way to Promote the National Policies of Environmental Protection and Social and Economic Development in the Daliokovsky Area- and to participate in a number of other activities. Thanks to wide coverage by the district, province and central media as we ll as by Internet sources, this local project has created a ground swell on the national level. It must have sent a message to people from other regions that the nearby rivulet or grove may need their help. Some, perhaps, have thought about possible improvements in their home towns , villages , neighborhoods and taken a second look at the environ­ment they and their children live in .

Don't Foul the Well ... "As of today, we have reached all of the short-term goals and a long-term goal - we have set up a initiative group which will develop a Local Agenda 21 for the Daliokovsky Rural Council focused on creating the best conditions for the local children, "Andrey Makhanko reports. "We are not done yet. We have planned meetings for the Local

Agenda 21 w.orking group. Milashki will continue to host environmental'activities in its summer camps. "

Well, there are reasons to believe that a single gulp of crystal-clean water from the well will develop a taste for the beautiful and they will keep it clean forever.

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ECOWORLD 2007: ON AND OFF CAMERA

There are many documentaries and videos addressing environmental issues in the world. One of their main values is the ability to show what is so much talked about and to send a powerful message to those who haven't yet understood that each and everyone can help the planet by improving the environment in his backyard.

Ecoworld 2007, an international ecological cinema and TV forum of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States has brought into focus environmental problems of different magnitudes. Symbolically enough , it opened in Minsk on the 5th of June, the World Environmental Day. The forum was organized by the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, Mir International TV and Radio Company, Minsk Executive Committee and Sakharov International State Ecological University, and was financially supported by the World Bank Small Grants Program, Central European Initiative, UN Office in Belarus and Belarusian Ministry of Culture.

More Than Just a Movie It was not the first time that Minsk hosted this forum . The

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2007 event focused on the Role of Cinema , Television and Mass Media in Addressing Environmental" Problems. , Working at the three-day forum were more than 80 people: public officials , CSO representatives, colleg~ , professors , school teachers , scientists , parliamentarians, journalists and, certainly, film makers from CIS and other countries. "Each of us must become environment-conscious," Yury Tsvetkov, Chairman of the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers , said in his opening remarks. "Events like our film forum provide easy environmental guidance to people because they offer not only facts , but also candid human emotions. " The forum included a conference , discussion and festival of films and TV programs from 14 countries . Shows were seamlessly combined with presentations. Scientists and experts spoke about Problems of Environmental Security of Belarus, Educational Reform in the Interest of Sustainable Development, Mass Media as a Builder of an

Environmental Consciousness , Human Factor in Environment, Radiation-Induced Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster from the Environmental Perspective , A New Environmental Consciousness as a Rescue, A Documentary as an Aid for the Environmental Education ...

Not a Howl of Despair, But a Call for Action "Today, the world ecological cinema and TV have become a green movement which unites people openly committed to the values of life and protecting living creatures on our planet- because all of them have a right to exist and to keep its own environmental niche," said Alexander Apatsky, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus. "We are pleased to note the ever-growing strength of the environmental movement in the Republic of Belarus, and this forum confirms my words. " The pictures were both enjoyed and ranked. Participating in the competition of documentaries and TV programs were 30 works .

The Grand Prix as well as the Central European Initiative Prize in •the Relations between Human and Nature nomination went to a Bulgarian director Eldara Traikova,

• author of The Park of Dancing Bears. The Belarusian TV and Radio Company's program Equilibrium (hosted by A. Sykalo) made the top five . One of the most eminent directors in the area of Belarusian environmental cinema is Igor Byshnev who has a Doctor's Degree in Biology. His new film , Charmed by the Marshland, was shown in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve , the hosting place of Ecomir 2007's second day. In Berezinsky, the participants also discussed the problems of specially protected natural territories , ecotourism and ecological education . "The entire world understands that the problems of the environment cannot be solved by ecologists and govern­ment officials alone ," continued Alexander Apatsky. "Cinema, television and mass media play a significant role in disseminating the ideas that promote harmoniza­tion of human interaction with nature in the modern world . They shoulder the responsibility of fostering and protect­ing the everlasting values. To protect nature means to protect our life and the life of our children ." Children , incidentally, also had a chance to speak out about the environmental issues. Before the forum , Minsk had hosted a school essay contest , Ecology and Morals : What the Younger Generation Thinks about the State of the Environment in the 2151 Century, and more than a hundred students from secondary schools , lyceums and gymnasiums had sent in their works. Excerpts from the best essays were published in a separate brochure, some of the most incisive thoughts made their way into a documentary, Thinking Aloud... about Nature and Human ...

Children on the Problems of the Adults "The reason why people often mishandle nature is not their wickedness, but their inability to see and understand

the consequences, " states Alexey Zhukov, a 9th Grade student from the Secondary School # 116. " An informed person would never harm himself. Whatever difficulties we face , the economic problems should not overshadow the environmental concerns. Nature is appealing to our conscience every day and every hour. So, how can we plant an environmental time bomb for our descendants?"

To Be Continued "Thanks to the financial support of World Bank Small Grants Program and other institutions, the Minsk Cinema and TV Forum has grown internationally," said Nikolai Pavlov, Project Manager and First Secretary of Belarusian Union of Cinematographers ." During the forum , Mir International TV and Radio Company arranged for the best works to be shown on TV, so our virtual house grew considerably. We also held a conference, discus­sion and roundtable." To heighten the event's effect, the organizers published the forum bulletin which included conference presenta­tions and discussion theses in English and Russian. The proposed Echo of the Cinema and TV Forum , a special educational action aiming to show the prize-winning films around the entire Belarus , had already begun its journey in Minsk. According to the organizers, the forum itself should also come back.

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OUR HOME- OUR CONCERN

People with serious illnesses must not be social outcasts. Those who have limited abilities usually oppose depen­

dency and want to take an active stand so they are treated as equals. In any society, however, the obstacles they have to surmount together with their families on the way to social adaptation are much more formidable than

those encountered by the rest of us.

Unity eases hardship. This is why a group of trouble­

stricken people once formed the Belarusian Association

of Assistance to Children and Young People with Disabilities. "We are about twenty years old," says Natalia Vopniarskaya, a member of the Association 's Central

Council. "Many parents who had disabled children joined the Association a long time ago. Now their kids are grown, and they have an independent life to live. We want them to acquire elementary working skills so they could as much as possible adapt to modern society and avoid isolation. "

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No Pains, No Gains In a village of Tarasovo (Minsk Oblast) , there· is ··~ community ministry house run by The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Temple Parish. The house has workshops where • people with disabilities can develop various labor skills. Those who come here are also attracted by a deciduous forest sitting on the Mazurka Hill. However, if you had wanted to call this grove a temple of nature before the project started , you would have been wrong: a reedy meadow encompassing an abandoned school stadium, heaps of garbage, thickets and deadwood made it ugly ... " So we thought we should get down to business and clean up this place, " says Natalia Vopniarskaya. " The Association 's Minsk Section and the Community Ministry House prepared a multi-purpose project, Our Home -Our Concern , and it won a World Bank SmGP grant in 2007. The project included a whole number of activities aiming to improve the environmental situation in the village of Tarasovo. Unfortunately, this intensively devel­oping territory was previously characterized by standard ecological problems which emerged as a result of local population 's environmental backwardness and their reluctance to be engaged in any improvements. Many people used to pollute the environment: they destroyed trees , burned domestic waste, washed cars by the river and left garbage anywhere they wanted. " Naturally, without the local community's participation in an effort to clean up the mess, the project would have been destined to fail. To assess the chances of success, the participants began their action with a formal survey of the Tarasovo inhabitants and continued with informal communication . All in all, they covered 187 people. Young people with disabilities made an important step towards their social adaptation by helping to distribute and collect the questionnaires. The project organizers arranged meetings with local authorities and experts on environment and sustainable development, disseminated info leaflets, booklets and posters.

May There Be Park! On the 41h of August, the organizers had a roundtable discussion of the survey results and the most vital issues fo r Tarasovo. The debate unveiled a problem- there was no special place designated as a commun ity recreation area. Many of the participants signed up to help. The resulting initiative group included local citizens and clergy, because the recreation park would appear next to the temple 's territory.

A seminar, Laying out a Park in the Village of Tarasovo (A Workshop of the Future), and a meeting of the initiative group took place three weeks later. The park was not the only item on the table - the participants also discussed ways to develop a Local Agenda 21 . In September, they organized three voluntary weekend community work­days, subbotniks , and cleared the park territory of garbage and deadwood. More than fifty people - the local residents, young people with disabilities, nunnery and congregation - offered their help. People with disabilities and the members of the Association continued to work in the park on weekdays . Consequently, the enthusiasts tidied out more than 1 hectare of territory.

Exchange of experience is always important. Training trips to a village of Komarovo (Miadelsky District, Minsk Oblast) and a village of Mosar (Vitebsk Oblast) , where the local communities have a history of improving recreation areas and parks , have taught the people of Tarasovo many useful things . They have announced a contest to encourage the designing of amenities on the territory which was cleared during the subbotniks. Several drafts have come from the students of the Architecture and Construction College. The recreation area is expected to have special campfire spots , observation grounds, lawns and garbage cans . A part of the park may become a garden.

Several Objectives at a Time "Our project has helped attain several objectives at a time," says Natalia Vopniarskaya. "The participating young people (between 18 and 30 years of age) with psychic and physical disabilities have become stronger, acqu ired various working skills and gained self­confidence . They have tried living outside their families and made friends with each other. They have been exploring the world . The local citizens have developed a feel ing for being a community. They have convened for the first time to discuss common challenges and seek solutions. An initiative group is beginning to emerge and so is the cooperation with the authorities. The village of Tarasovo now has a website of their own, and this platform helps them communicate more easily and address common problems."

The project outcome has become the subject of a December 2007 roundtable discussion. Natalia Vopniar­skaya is confident that these activities will go on because the members of the Association 's Minsk Section are keen to continue developing the park territory in the village of Tarasovo. The initiative is welcomed by the parents of the disabled children , local community and parish clergy. The children and the congregation will receive help from sponsors and youth organizations. In the summertime, Tarasovo is going to host international volunteers from the UNESCO Clubs NGO who will participate in the activities of an integration camp.

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PICKING UP THE VOICE OF STUDENTS

In this country, the school-leaving certificate you get at a high school, lyceum or gymnasium is often called 'the maturity certificate' or 'a ticket to the adult life'. Nevertheless , the young people who make the first steps of their adult life often look around in wonder like babies just born into this world. This time , however; they ask questions only experts can answer: different starting

opportunities , family status ... College students usually have trouble understanding some legal subtleties of

modern life, and those who come to a big city from the country or orphans left without parental advice and

guidance seem to be the most vulnerable in this regard.

Getting a tip from a professional legal counselor is way above their means.

These problems are well known to the International University of Labor and Social Relations (IULSR), an

institution set up in February 1992 on the basis of the

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Training and Methodological Center and Center for Scientific Research under the Belarusian Association· of Trade Unions. This is the place to go to for answers , because this college trains managers, economists and ' lawyers. Teaching here are highly skillful professors , many with foreign practical experience. The students enjoy using advanced educational technologies and up­to-date training facilities: an 80,000-item library, five computerized classrooms supplied with the Internet connection and language laboratories with audiovisual aids. Since December 1s1, 2006, a university radio station

has been on the air during the intermissions covering the college news. A year later, the IULSR School of Law came up with an interesting idea- to make a youth radio program which would provide legal advice. The originators immediately thought about leaping over the college walls and going national to help students from other universities countrywide , because an example to take a cue from had already existed - The New Radio, a professional trade union radio station with registered frequency. The project, naturally, needed funding , and it came from the World Bank Small Grants Program.

Waiting for PERLA

"The IULSR Trade Union Committee and a PRIMUM inter­national student club prepared a project entitled PERLA (PErsonal Radio Legal Adviser) and filed an application ,"

says Yana Strezh, Project Coordinator and a IULSR

School of Law student. "To my knowledge, the contest organizers received about two hundred applications from twenty .countries . Only twenty projects made it to the finale in Rome, and we were among them to our pleasant

surprise. The projects were under scrutiny for several days, because the competent jury had to select only ten.

_ Just imagine how happy we were when we heard PERLA . • called among them during the closing ceremony! "

Thanks to the prompt support of the Small Grants

Program, this promising project took off in October 2007.

To cooperate with a professional radio station and main­

tain the high standard, the IULSR used the funding to

purchase professional equipment and install it in its

university stud io. Students who wanted to participate in

the recording of the future programs were given an

audition. Experts held five master classes to teach the

radio rookies the basics of broadcasting.

"Each master class centered on a separate topic ," Yana

Strezh says. "First, the teachers walked the audition

winners through The New Radio , and then they told the

students about its main operational principles. After that,

we were taught some Voice and Diction . Then, finally , we

started working on the programs, developed a concept

and made a script of the first pilot spot. A survey of both

IULSR and other college students was going on in parallel

to find out what issues concerned them the most. Right

now we are working on the programs which will go on the

air, and a lot of help is coming also from Legal Technolo­

gies , Ltd. We hope that The New Radio will very shortly air

our first program and the young people nationwide will

have a source of free legal advice. "

A Legal Compass

Initially, five minutes of PERLA will go on the air on The

New Radio's frequency once in every two weeks at a

certain time. The project is designed for several months,

but chances are it will continue much longer because so

many young people need a radio friend like this.

The project will be still more efficient when it enters the

web. An Internet site and a forum are almost ready. So, if

you miss your PERLA spot on the air, read your virtual

legal compass on the net!

THE WORLD BANK E