On November 23, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Employees of the Vitebsk Regional Institute for the Development of Education held an online presentation in Smolensk today on the experience of educational institutions and innovative educators in the region working with gifted children during the international scientific and practical conference "Search, Support and Guidance for Talented Children and Educators in the Context of Implementing Educational Models". For the first time, the Institute for the Development of Education is participating in an international forum using modern information and communication technologies, the institute informed a BELTA correspondent. The presentation noted that the search for various ways to construct an educational environment that creates conditions for the manifestation and development of children's giftedness is one of the main areas of activity for pedagogical teams and education organizers in the region. To develop general and special giftedness in children, a system has been created in the region, which includes a network of preschool and specialized general secondary education institutions, elective classes covering about 92.2% of students, as well as institutions of additional education for children and youth, where talents and abilities of more than 37 thousand children and adolescents are developed. In addition, there are over 400 student scientific societies in the region, and 55 exemplary amateur creative groups operate in educational institutions. An electronic database "Pedagogical Initiatives in Working with Gifted Children" has been created in the region, which serves as a kind of methodological repository of ideas and advanced developments by educators for identifying and developing gifted children. Every educator interested in developing individual educational pathways for the development of students' giftedness has operational access to the information. The creation of the electronic database has made it possible to intensify the promotion of best practices in developing students' creative abilities and to maintain continuity in working with gifted children by involving young educators in such activities. In addition, one of the forms of identifying giftedness and the most widespread area of work with gifted children is participation in Olympiads, contests, exhibitions, and conferences. For the past several years, the Vitebsk region has maintained leadership in the country in the number of distance Olympiads and contests held.