The Festival of National Cultures in Grodno lasts for more than two days, and its significance extends far beyond dances and songs. Ivan Kolbasko, Chairman of the Board of the Grodno Regional Branch of the Belarusian Peace Foundation and Person of the Year for the Grodno Region, spoke about peacemaking traditions, youth projects, and interfaith dialogue.

A Festival that Unites

Despite the heavy rain, the atmosphere in Grodno remains festive. The main mission of the Festival of National Cultures, according to him, is as follows: "I believe the festival's main mission is to create a celebration of peace, friendship, and kindness. People find friends here. The city is almost doubling in size. And with each festival, its boundaries expand. Often, people who want to come and see national traditions line up. And this is probably a good thing, because knowing the traditions of others is also very important for life, so as not to get lost later."

It was noted that Belarusians are an excellent example of how to live in love, harmony, and peace.

Belarusian Peace Foundation Projects: "Children for Peace" and "Schools of Peace"

One of the Belarusian Peace Foundation's long-running projects is "Children for Peace," which offers children various creative outlets: poetry, prose, and drawing.

"Children write with such warmth about their native land, about recent events, about the past. Many of their works, especially in prose, speak so much about the heroism of our people during the Great Patriotic War and open new pages. This isn't something you just write out of nowhere—it requires thought and development," the Chairman of the Board said.

All published books are distributed to district libraries. The "Schools of Peace in the Republic of Belarus" project has been running for five years now. This isn't about other schools being inferior, but rather about the participating schools collaborating more closely with the Belarusian Peace Foundation and passionately implementing the proposed projects.

In 2025, to commemorate the anniversary of Victory Day, a video contest was held on the theme "80 Years of Peace." These videos became small pieces of history of the places where the children live, including eyewitness accounts.

There is also a "Voices of Peace" contest for those who dream of peace and for whom peace is the main goal in life. And every Belarusian has such a main goal. President Alexander Lukashenko also speaks of the need to love and respect each other, to ensure that the hospitable, clean, and beautiful Belarusian land is filled with order, peace, friendship, and respect.

The Belarusian Peace Foundation actively collaborates with representatives of various faith communities. This work has been ongoing for several months—all the heads of the main faiths are members of the Belarusian Peace Foundation's board. Agreements and memoranda have already been signed to organize joint events more closely and frequently.

As the national anthem says, Belarusians are peaceful people. And our neighbors from Lithuania and Poland, who are literally right next door, can feel this goodwill.

"I am confident that people who come here see the atmosphere and see the goodwill of Belarusians. They have a desire to return to Belarus again and again," the Chairman of the Board of the Grodno regional branch of the Belarusian Peace Foundation concluded.

The Peace Foundation continues its work, proving that love, respect, and care for one another are not just words, but everyday practices shared by people of different nationalities and faiths.