The international youth camp "Be-La-Rus" starts today on the border of Belarus, Latvia and Russia.

27/07/20170 views

The XXVI International Youth Camp "Be-La-Rus - 2017: Towards the World Festival of Youth and Students" starts today in the Verkhnedvinsk district of the Vitebsk region near the Mound of Friendship on the border of Belarus, Latvia, and Russia, the Belta agency was informed by the press service of the Central Committee of the PRYSM Public Association.

The camp, which will run until July 30, will be attended by about 600 people – activists of youth organisations of the participating countries, veterans of the youth movement, and honorary guests. Belarus will be represented by a delegation of 250 PRYSM activists from all regions of the country. An educational programme, competitions, and intellectual games are planned. Participants will showcase their creative abilities and artistry in the competitions "Be-La-Rus Dawns", "Friendship Without Barriers", and bivouacs "Together We Welcome the XIX World Festival of Youth and Students". "In October, the Belarusian youth delegation plans to participate in this large-scale international youth forum, so the bivouac competition – a theatrical welcome for guests and jury, an excursion, and a presentation – will be a kind of creative warm-up before the upcoming festival," the press service explained.

In addition, a large-scale photo exhibition dedicated to the camp's 25-year history will be held at the camp. "Over a quarter of a century, the camp has developed many traditions. An important place is given to patriotic events: a memorial rally for the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, laying flowers at the monuments to the Komsomol members of the Proshkovo underground in Belarus, and to the second secretary of the underground district committee of the Komsomol, partisan scout, Hero of the Soviet Union Maria Pyntho – in Russia," the press service noted. This year, the camp participants will traditionally hand over a wreath through the Latvian border guards to be laid at the monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union Imants Sudmalis.

The ideological inspirers of the youth camp "Be-La-Rus" are the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), the Union for Youth Progress of Latvia, and the Russian Union of Youth. Following the tradition established over the past decade, the international youth tent camp is located in Belarus on a forest clearing situated in a historical place near the Mound of Friendship, which was erected in 1959 in memory of the combat camaraderie of partisans from Belarus, Russia, and Latvia. Since 1992, thousands of young people from Belarus, Latvia, Russia, as well as youth representatives from other countries, have spent unforgettable days at the camp. Honorary guests of the camp at various times included People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Mulyavin and the Belarusian State Ensemble "Pesniary", American rock singer Tim Strong, and others.

The press service of the BRSM recalled that the international youth project is designed to develop and strengthen contacts and cooperation between the youth of the three countries. It also helps young people to express themselves in a versatile way through creative, sports, and educational activities, and enables leaders of youth organizations to exchange experiences.

News of Belarus (BELTA)