The Transformation towards Sustainability in Belarus

Dr. Uta von Winterfeld and Dorothea Schostok at the Sustainable Development Weeks 2017 in Minsk

  • News 24.10.2017

Belarus faces the challenge of conducting a progress report on the implementation of the national sustainability strategy 2030 in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, at the same time, discuss a new strategy for 2035. Against this background, the IBB Dortmund, an international educational community work association based in Germany, initiated the Sustainable Development Weeks 2017, which took place in Minsk from 25 September to 25 October for the fourth time. Over 150 initiatives from Minsk and the surrounding area participate and call attention to the SDGs of the Agenda 2030.

Two scientists from the Wuppertal Institute travelled to Minsk to contribute to the conference programme. Dorothea Schostok (Research Fellow in the Research Group Future Energy and Mobility Structures) gave two presentations on the sustainability strategie of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Due to the focus of the conference on the implementation of the SDGs at a regional level, Dorothea Schostok gave an input on the lessons learnt from the conceptualisation and implementation of the sustainability structure in NRW, and discussed leverage points for a knowledge transfer for Belarus. On 19 October, she held a presentation on the "Sustainability Structure North Rhine-Westphalia: Conceptual Analyses and Considerations on Designing a Sustainability Strategy NRW from the Science Perspective". The presence of Business Secretary Wladimir Sinowski underlines the importance of this knowledge exchange for Belarus.

On 20 October, Schostok participated at the Round Table on the "Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at national and regional level", giving a presentation on the "Evaluation and Monitoring of the Implementation of Sustainability Strategies". Marianna Schtschotin, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic and National Coordinator on Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, also gave a speech at the Round Table, that Deputy Business Secretary Aleksandr Tscherwjakow also participated at.

Dr. Uta von Winterfeld (Project Co-ordinator of the Research Group Future Energy and Mobility Structures) talked in her presentation at the forum "Women's Entrepreneurship as a Factor of Sustainable Development" on 10 October about a societal transformation that leaves the era of greed of gain and moves towards sustainability. In her presentation, she focused on the role of gender equality for this transformation. According to her, gender equality is a major requirement for sustainable development. "If we want to increase women's chances in the field of paid labor, we have to strengthen the position of men in the field of unpaid labor," says Uta von Winterfeld.

In May 2017, a Belarusian delegation already visited the Wuppertal Institute to get information on its research activities, projects and possible co-operations.

Dr. Uta von Winterfeld in Minsk
Dr. Uta von Winterfeld at the forum "Women's Entrepreneurship as a Factor of Sustainable Development" in Minsk on 10 October. Photo: Anton Suryapin
Dorothea Schostok
Dorothea Schostock in Minsk on 19 October with her presentation on the "Sustainability Structure North Rhine-Westphalia: Conceptual Analyses and Considerations on Designing a Sustainability Strategy NRW from the Science Perspective". Photo: IBB Dortmund

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