The Verkhnedvinsk team is a prize-winner of the youth Belarusian-Russian educational and patriotic camp "Friendship Mound-2024"

For the third time, the youth Belarusian-Russian educational and patriotic camp "Kurgan-2024" was held on the border of Belarus, Russia, and Latvia.

For 65 years, the peoples of neighboring countries have been united by a sacred tradition, according to which, on the first Sunday of July, former front-line soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters, their relatives, acquaintances, and simply concerned citizens gather at the Kurgan of Friendship to honor the memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War and pay tribute to the heroes who brought peace to our lands. But time flies swiftly, the generation of victors is passing away – and the duty to preserve the legacy of past years is passed on to the youth, who are laying down new, their own traditions.
For the third year in a row, on the eve of the meeting at the Kurgan of Friendship, the youth Belarusian-Russian educational and patriotic camp "Kurgan-2024" has been unfolding. This time it was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders. 23 teams participated in the camp's competition program – combined teams from districts and cities of the Vitebsk region, as well as the Russian Federation, including representatives from the Pskov region and St. Petersburg. Another experienced team also arrived at the Kurgan – a team from the public association "Belarusian Union of War Veterans of Afghanistan". In total, "Kurgan-2024" brought together over 500 people!

A rich program awaited the camp participants: daily "#Narodnaya Zaryadka" (People's Exercise), a competition of patriotic songs and poems "Belarus Remembers!", a championship in assembling relief maps "I Know Belarus", a military-sports game "Northern Region", an intellectual tournament "Flowers of the Great Victory", a review of thematic camp decorations, lessons of courage, work of various educational platforms, and much more – there was no time to be bored. But the most important thing, for which the young people forgot about their usual comfort for three days and settled in tents far from the hustle and bustle of the city, was communication. Meetings of old friends and new acquaintances, the excitement of competition and exchange of experience, songs by the campfire and soldier's porridge with stewed meat – all this leaves indelible impressions and a desire to return to the camp next year.
The team from the Verkhnedvinsk district took first place in the intellectual tournament "Flowers of the Great Victory", where they demonstrated knowledge, logic, and the ability to make quick decisions in "Svoya Igra" (Own Game), "What? Where? When?", and "Brain-ring".

Having won in kettlebell lifting and tug-of-war, the Verkhnedvinsk team secured second place overall in the military-sports game "Northern Region". They also managed to enter the top three in the field newspaper competition. As a result, the Verkhnedvinsk district took second place in the team standings based on the camp's competition program, losing by only two points to the Senno district. Representatives from Orsha region came in third.
On July 7, young people and Afghan war veterans participated in the jubilee 65th meeting at the Mound of Friendship. And on the camp territory, the traditional Bonfire of Friendship was lit by representatives of three generations at once: participants of the International Social Project "Civil-Patriotic Camp 'Mound of Friendship'", leaders of the Belarusian-Russian youth educational-patriotic camp "Kurgan-2024" from the Senno district, and the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin.
Alena MOROZ.

Source: d-p.by