On February 2, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. In Belarus, there is a growing public interest in the activities and participation in projects of the national Red Cross Society. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Society (BRCS), Viktor Kolbanov. Today, he is participating in the XXIV reporting and election conference of the regional organization of the BRCS in Vitebsk. The BRCS has over 1 million members and 16,000 volunteers. "Of the latter, over 4,000 constitute the active core of the organisation, working on a permanent basis. The number of active volunteers has doubled in the last five years, which indicates a clear public interest in the organisation's work," stated Viktor Kolbanov. The BRCS's activities are also promoted by the organisation's website, which has been operational since last year. Over a thousand people visited it during the past weekend alone. People are interested in the society's areas of work and ask questions about how to help someone or become a volunteer, Viktor Kolbanov said. "We try to provide personal responses to all inquiries. This is complex, but necessary work that helps to overcome the negative stereotypes and prejudices that have developed in our society regarding public organisations over the past decades," he emphasised. -0-

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