The results of the Republican Competition "Volunteer of the Year" were summed up

Volunteering is not only the school of fostering humanity and the starting point for personal development, but it is also the universal movement that helps the people in need, as well as the volunteers to see beyond their own problems the troubles and concerns of the other people. From the 26^th of September to the 2^nd of December, 2016 the republican competition "Volunteer of the Year" was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, the Republican Volunteer Centre and the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank in order to support and develop the youth volunteer movement in the Republic of Belarus. The results of the competition were summed up at the awards ceremony at Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank in Minsk on the 2^nd of December.

The competition included the categories "Volunteer of the Year", "The Best Volunteer Group", "The Best Volunteer Project" in the following directions: "Social Volunteering"; "Volunteering in HLS (advocacy of healthy lifestyle, help in the organization of mass sports events)"; "Eco-volunteering"; "Volunteering in the cultural heritage". There were more than 60 applications submitted for the participation in the competition, including the students, as well as the staff of Hostel No.4 of Brest State A.S. Pushkin University.

Students of the Faculty of History Vlad Gumin, Ekaterina Buxa and Zahar Karpinchik presented the activities of the volunteer group "Returned Names" in the nomination "The Best Volunteer Group" and they were announced among the finalists.

Student of the Socio-pedagogical Faculty, Head of the Academy of Volunteering Inna Tserkovich was fighting for the victory in the categories "Volunteer of the Year" and "The Best Volunteer Project" ("Social Volunteering") with her project "Towards each other"

Galina Korobchuk and Anna Dobrodey (the teacher-organizer of Hostel No.4) presented the project "Safety Abroad" to the competition volunteer group "Elpis" in the nomination "The Best Volunteer Project" ("Social Volunteering").

Conducting the ceremony of awarding the winners of the contest was dedicated to the International Volunteer Day celebrated on the 5^th of December. The event was attended by Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus Mikhail Zhuravkov, Rector of Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank Alexander Zhuk, Chairwoman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Healthcare, Physical Culture, Family and Youth Policy Lyudmila Makarina-Kibak, Vice-Chairwoman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic Belarus on Education, Culture and Science Tatyana Jakubovich, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus Vadim Zakrevsky, Head of the Administration for Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus Natalia Pshenichnaya, Chairwoman of the Board of the Republican Public Association "Voluntary Labour League of Youth" Olga Shmigelskaya, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Public Association "Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM)", Coordinator of the volunteer movement of the Public Association BRSM "Generous Heart" Victoria Mennanova, Chairman of the Republican Public Association "The Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs" Dmitry Subtselny, Chairwoman of Minsk City Organization of the Belarusian Red Cross Society Elena Fadeeva, Deputy Director of the Republican Centre for Ecology and Local Lore Larisa Zhur.

All the participants received the Certificates and the exclusive sweet gifts. The winners were awarded the Diplomas with the memorable souvenirs. The concert program was a perfect addition to the awards ceremony.

G.S. Korobchuk, Teacher-organizer of Hostel No.4