World Refugee Day 2003 National Activity Plan: Belarus

A competition will be launched among secondary school students, who will be invited to draw and write on the theme, "We are so wonderful because we are different." The best works will be presented at the National Museum and the Theatre of a Young Spectator.

An outdoor multi-cultural fair will take place in the central park of Minsk. There will be music, a craft exhibit and ethnic food by refugees. Children's centres will also organise various events.

UNHCR will organise a concert and a reception for the diplomatic community, government officials and refugee representatives. It will also participate in the International Festival of National Cultures, which opened on April 5, through a photo exhibition and some other activities.

In addition, the refugee agency will help to develop a curriculum on tolerance and multi-culturalism for higher institutions and secondary schools, in collaboration with the Republican Institute for Advanced Training of Specialists in the Sphere of Education and the International Public Association for UN Studies.