Latushka Establishes Award for Best Belarusian Language Teacher at Hajnówka Lyceum

Deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet Paval Latushka has established an award for the best teacher of Belarusian language, literature and history at Secondary School No. 2 with extended Belarusian language studies in the Polish town of Hajnówka, reports the United Transitional Cabinet.

The initiative is intended to recognise the high professionalism and dedication of teachers in Podlasie who preserve and promote Belarusian culture and history. The cash award will be funded from the politician’s personal funds.

The decision on the recipient of the award will be made by the lyceum’s administration. This year, the award is scheduled to be presented on 26 June during the end-of-school-year ceremony.

“Teachers play an exceptional role in the fate of a nation, because it is they who instil in children from an early age a love for Belarusian identity. It is worth recalling that the great Belarusian literary figures Kupala and Kolas worked as teachers. Support for the Belarusian minority in Podlasie is of particular importance. This region is a unique environment where Belarusian tradition and language have lived and developed for centuries within Polish society.

For me, as a Belarusian politician and elected delegate to the Coordination Council, it is very important to support the development of Belarusian culture and education, including abroad”, Latushka said.

Latushka stressed the importance of supporting Belarusian identity and culture, especially at a time when the Lukashenka regime refuses to do so.

“As a young Belarusian diplomat, I first visited the Hajnówka lyceum 30 years ago, in 1996. Later, as culture minister and ambassador, I sought to support the lyceum’s important mission of preserving Belarusian identity. Unfortunately, today the state, in the form of the Lukashenka regime, denies Belarusian identity and refuses to support Belarusian culture both inside the country and abroad. Therefore, this task also falls on our shoulders. That is why I consider it important, as a Belarusian politician, to continue this mission”, Latushka said.