Illuminated Polack, new centre for inclusive tourism in Volozhin and action plans for 20 Belarusian cities: EU-supported Interakcia Foundation shares its results in 2020

The non-governmental non-profit Interakcia Foundation, which coordinates the EU-funded Covenant of Mayors East initiative in Belarus, has summed up the results of its activities in 2020.

Thanks to the project, almost 2,000 LED lamps, new lighting poles, light control boxes, and 12 autonomous solar-powered lamps were installed in 28 streets of Polack, while 26 city facilities received new decorative illumination, including the stairs to St. Sophia Cathedral, a boulevard along the central Skaryna avenue, and a bridge across the Zapadnaya Dvina river.

In July, jointly with the EU Delegation to Belarus, Interakcia opened the new centre for inclusive tourism in Volozhin – in the final event of its ‘Volozhin without barriers’ project.  Now the centre with a 20-bed hostel and a modern conference room is fully adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. Seven accessible tourist routes have been laid around the Volozhin district for tourists with special needs.

In 2020, Interakcia helped more than 20 Belarusian city and district authorities to develop their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs). Out of those 20, four cities submitted their SECAPs for approval to the European Secretariat of the Covenant of Mayors. To help cities to implement their SECAPs, Interakcia, together with 25 CoM signatories, has developed a set of pipeline infrastructure projects that can be financed through international organisations and banks. The pipelines include projects to modernise public lighting, buildings and heating systems, develop renewable energy sources and adapt to climate change. 

In 2020, the Foundation also supported Energy Days as part of EU Sustainable Energy Week in 22 cities, helping to organise more than 450 events on energy saving and clean energy.

Find out more:

Press release

Success story: How green energy illuminates the Belarusian city of Polack

Your questions answered: EU4Energy: What is it and how does it work in Belarus?