Natalia Kochanova held a meeting with students and young faculty of Polotsk State University
– Young people should not think: the time will come when they will do something for their country. They must understand that they also bear responsibility for their country and for what is happening in it, – emphasized the speaker of the upper house of parliament.
Discussing the socio-political situation in the country within the framework of an open dialogue, Natalya Kochanova urged not to give in to numerous fakes and provocations from the outside, the goal of which is to bring the independent state to its knees, and to react to such attempts at discord not guided by emotions, but relying on history.
– Without knowing the past, you cannot build the future. We see what has been achieved over many years, so we must appreciate what has been done by previous generations. The most important thing today is to preserve the peace and sovereignty of our country, only then will it develop, – said Natalya Ivanovna.
One of the platforms through which initiative youth can participate in the development of their region, and the entire state, is the youth parliament. Students of the Polotsk university asked Natalya Kochanova how she assesses the work of this association.
– We were very focused on creating a Youth Council under the National Assembly, now we are actively working with it, the guys bring many interesting proposals, which are derived from life. Youth parliaments must be developed, this is a promising direction, including for young people themselves, – replied Natalya Ivanovna.
She also voiced the idea of not limiting the number of representatives from the region to ten, but rather having each city and district represented by a delegate in this structure under the Council of the Republic. In her opinion, youth parliaments open up prospects for the participants themselves and help identify leaders who are ready not only to improve professionally but also to contribute to the development of their native region.
Youth should also show a conscientious approach to a number of other issues, including vaccination against coronavirus infection, as the epidemiological well-being of the entire country depends on the success of this campaign. As the rector of PSU, Oleg Romanov, reported, 80% of the university staff have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, and among students, this figure reaches 17%, but immunization efforts are actively continuing, with a vaccination point organized at the university health center.
Natalia Kochanova said that she herself, as well as her family members, had been vaccinated against coronavirus infection. Based on her personal experience, as well as the fact that the delta strain is currently circulating in the republic and many people, including young people, are experiencing severe illness from this virus mutation, she advised everyone not to ignore vaccination, to maintain distance, practice hand hygiene, and strictly adhere to mask requirements in public places.
A truly open dialogue took place at the Polotsk university. The Chairperson of the Council of the Republic engaged in a sincere conversation with the youth, sharing examples from her personal life and biographical facts that are inextricably linked with Polotsk and Novopolotsk, and frankly discussing events that concern all Belarusians. The speaker's openness prompted a wide range of questions from the audience – from upcoming amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the coronavirus situation, cooperation between Russian and Belarusian youth within the framework of the Union State, economic prospects for the modernization of OJSC "Naftan," to topics such as sports, physical activity, water quality, and the use of water resources.
– Perhaps because it is my home university, my hometown, the meeting turned out to be very heartfelt. I saw that the students are concerned about absolutely different issues that concern the development of our country today, not only in the education system, but also in a number of other topics important for every city and the state as a whole, – summarized Natalia Ivanovna.