Celebration of the “Belarusian Spring Festival”

The remarks were delivered by Mr. Salman Bal, Senior Political Coordination Adviser, on behalf of the Director-General

Ambassador Ambrazevich,
Mr. Al Muzaini [Director of the UNESCO Geneva Liaison Office],
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am pleased to welcome you to today’s event and transmit to you a special greeting from Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Director-General regrets very much that he cannot be here with us today and asked me to deliver the following message on his behalf and I quote:

“I am very pleased to welcome you to the celebration of the “Belarusian Spring Festival”. We are all grateful to Ambassador Ambrazevich and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus for bringing this colourful event to the Palais des Nations and for generously inviting us to a reception afterwards.

Spring celebrations in the Republic of Belarus have long been a tradition. On the occasion of ‘Gukanne Vyasny’ or the ‘Call of Spring’, men and women, young and old, dance and sing to celebrate the awakening of nature after wintertime, giving people hope for a new and prosperous year. The spring celebrations come with various rites, oral expressions and festivities, some of them inscribed in the National Inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Birds made of paper or straw and handmade nesting boxes called ‘Skvorechniki’ are hung in trees to invite the birds to bring back the warm days.

Today’s event provides us with a rich sample of this Belarusian tradition. The photo exhibition features seven renowned Belarusian photographers who have contributed images of nature and churches, including sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. We will be treated to a musical and dance performance by the group ‘Vietakh’.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we have gathered today for this joyful celebration, let’s not forget that 31 years ago, this Festival was marred by catastrophe as the explosion at the power station in Chernobyl set off a radioactive cloud that heavily affected the population of today’s Belarus and other countries in Europe. An event at WHO earlier this week reminded us of the devastating impact of this disastrous accident expressing also our solidarity with its victims.

Spring holds great symbolism. It is about the awakening of the earth, about renewal, optimism and hopeful anticipation. Let us call today for a new spring in our global community, one that brings hope to those who have lost it.

Thank you very much and enjoy the celebration”.

This is the end of the Director-General’s message.