Youth of Vitebsk Region: The Voice of Truth and New Projects in the Media Space
How to engage young people with interesting initiatives? How to motivate them from an early age to demonstrate civic responsibility and pursue professional goals? This was the topic of discussion during the round table "Media Space as a Platform for Youth Civic Engagement."
Dmitry Demidov, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies, Marina Novitskaya, Head of the Main Department of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee, Zhanna Naritsyna, First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, and Olga Mlyavaya, Chairperson of the Youth Council under the Regional Council, met with gymnasium and secondary school students who became participants of the Vitebsk Region Media Laboratory this year.
– Working with youth is an important component of the Regional Council of Deputies' activities. Unformed minds are bombarded with a stream of unreliable information that undermines our traditional values. The task is to protect the information space; this is a matter of national security. There are various ways to defend one's position, but the most important and effective is the truth, an honest and truthful account of what is happening in our country and beyond, – noted Dmitry Demidov.
The head of the region's parliamentary corps emphasized the significant role of the Media Laboratory in involving the younger generation in public activities.
– A mechanism for interaction between young journalists and the Youth Council under the Regional Council has been developed. In essence, the Media Laboratory serves as the press service for young parliamentarians. The guys communicate with each other in their own language, put forward various initiatives, and share what is happening on social media and blogs, – added Dmitry Demidov.
Olga Mlyavaya elaborated on this. The youth parliamentary movement resonates with young correspondents, who not only cover the council's work but also propose their own creative projects.
– The Youth Council under the Regional Council includes 23 representatives from all districts of the Vitebsk region. These are the most active, initiative-driven young people with a formed civic stance. We have developed and are implementing various projects: "Youth Shield," "Youth Assembly," "Step," "Belarus of the Future," and others. A new initiative has now started in the Postavy district – "Three Days with the Authorities: from the Village Council to the Republic." Its goal is to strengthen the connection between youth and state authorities. This experience is planned to be replicated in other regions of the country, – explained Olga Mlyavaya.
It is important that the voice of youth is heard, therefore the cooperation with the writing and filming guys from the Media Laboratory, for whom there is always a good news reason, is invaluable.
And at the meeting with the speakers, the young correspondents not only expressed their opinions, came up with initiatives, asked questions, but also recorded everything that was happening in their notebooks and on their smartphone cameras to share with their peers later.
The dialogue turned out to be useful for both sides. The head of the region's deputy corps took note of some of the young journalists' proposals and wished the future journalists to be conscientious and stand up for the truth.