The 1st stage of the republican competition for the best publication on an environmental theme begins

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus shall exercise overall guidance over the preparation and conduct of the competition. The competition is held in the "Our Common Home" nomination, which includes essays, articles, reports, reviews, sketches, notes, and comments on careful attitude towards nature, tidying up the land, improving the territories of settlements, waste management, protection of water resources, atmospheric air, fauna and flora, implementation of new technologies in environmental protection, preservation of natural monuments, and other materials on environmental protection and rational use of natural resources. The competition is held from May 15 to August 5 in 2 stages: 1. May 15 – July 15 (city stage); 2. July 16 – August 5 (republican stage). Individuals participate in the competition in the following categories: • Students; • Amateurs; • Professionals. Works published in periodic print media from May 15, 2025, to May 15, 2026, are eligible for participation in the competition. Each work submitted to the competition must be accompanied by an information sheet of the competition participant, indicating the competition nomination, the author's surname, first name, patronymic, and age, postal address, and phone number. Competition entries must be submitted as a newspaper or magazine clipping, its electronic copy, or as a handwritten or typed text, its electronic copy, with the mandatory indication of the name of the periodic print media in which this work was previously published, and the issue number and date. Individuals wishing to participate in the competition must send their works to the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection by May 15, 2026, with the inscription "For the Republican Competition for the Best Publication on Environmental Topics." Based on the results of the first stage of the competition, the Vitebsk Regional Organizing Committee determines the winners in the nomination by categories and sends the works that took first, second, and third place in the first stage of the competition to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. Winners of the first stage of the competition are awarded cash prizes in the following amounts: • First place – 6 base units; • Second place – 4 base units; • Third place – 3 base units. Winners of the second stage of the competition are awarded diplomas and cash prizes in the following amounts: • First place – up to 31 base units; • Second place – up to 25 base units; • Third place – up to 20 base units.