Inclusive cashier gets a job

In Vitebsk State Industrial College, the demand for graduates exceeds the supply four times. This educational institution is implementing a pilot project "Inclusive Cashier", thanks to which people with disabilities can get the required qualifications and get a job in one of the largest retail chains in Belarus.

TThe new educational institution was not created from scratch, it received a new status, continuing the best traditions of the state polytechnic vocational lyceum and industrial-pedagogical college.

According to the director of the educational institution, deputy of Vitebsk Regional Council Ruslan Vinokurov, both institutions trained specialists in trade and services. Today the total number of students exceeds a thousand. They are taught by about two hundred teachers.

Optimization will allow to accumulate and more thoughtfully spend budget funds. And the quality of education, which is already high, will increase and meet the needs of the labor market.

The students did not have any problems connected with the change in the status and name of the educational institution. One can get there the profession of a baker, waiter, bartender, pastry chef, cook, cashier, shop assistant... And even two at the same time. And it goes without saying that the skills of a cook and pastry chef are useful for life.

Such specialists easily find work both at home and abroad. The trend of the time is the development of the food industry. Even COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions did not change it. Residents of the border regions of Russia also come to Vitebsk Industrial College to study. By the way, graduates – pastry chefs, cooks and other young specialists – have the opportunity to choose the best

suited options for employment from among the many where they are expected.

Practice in the classroom

The institution has a resource center with a good canteen and a stylish cafe. Students cook and serve meals there. These are practical lessons under the guidance of teachers, which, by the way, has a positive effect on the price. And at the food-truck in the college courtyard, queues line up for hot cakes and other tasty things. Recently another food-truck appeared which specializes in natural ingredients.

According to Marina Ulasevich, deputy director for educational and production work, the learning process at the college is practice-oriented.

Both townspeople and visitors are happy to go to the college cafe. One of the interesting things there is that tea in a teapot is heated with a candle. The design and furnishings are well thought-out and made by the hands of teachers and students. A special software for the service was ordered: young waiters approach the tables with tablets. Artificial intelligence monitors how much and what is ordered, which dish is the most popular, whether there is a shortage, whether there are enough production ingredients.

Students from about ten educational institutions of the region practice theoretical knowledge in the cafe and in the kitchen. Experience is shared by the peer-to-peer method.

Wheelchair is not a hindrance

The author of these lines was interested in learning to make candies. It turns out that everyone can attend feepaying master classes. For a couple of days you will be taught to be familiar with chocolate.

Earlier people with disabilities were taught to cook, now they can get a profession there. One of the project implementers is Vitebsk United Organization of the Republican Association of Wheelchair Users.

Lessons began at the end of the summer. The duration of training is less than half a year. If necessary, they can be taken to classes and back home by special transport. This was envisaged in the project, which is being carried out with the financial support of one of the German charitable organizations.

In the classroom there is an imitation of a graduate's future place of work in the shopping center. People come to study there not only from Vitebsk region, but also from Minsk region.

The correspondent talked to future cashiers. They said that it was very interesting to study, and the teachers treated them very well.

This experience will be adopted in other regions of Belarus. Large trading corporations are also interested in it.

Alexander Pukshansky.

Photo credit: the author.

UMC.VITUO.BY

Non-coincidental coincidences

OOften, when I watch a Belarusian-made cartoon, I catch myself thinking a few things. Firstly, they are probably made by those who love children. Secondly, it is interesting to be able to speak with the most demanding audience: to cultivate in them love of their native and eternal values is a top class skill. And if what you see on the screen touches you, sometimes even moves to tears, you simply admire true professionals. One of them is my interlocutor – art director, screenwriter, director of animation studio of the National Film Studio "Belarusfilm"

Tatyana Kublitskaya.

We create a new world every time

– Tatyana, this year Belarusian animation is 50 years old. What are your feelings and assessments of what we have and where we are moving?

– It's good that Belarus has a studio of animated films. After all, film production and animation in particular is very expensive. This requires attention and financial costs. And the fact that we managed to preserve this production (and we went through different times) is a big plus. For the country as well. Because Belarusian animation is recognizable: we have good masters, and watching some of my colleagues' works, I am proud of them. What will happen next – no one knows, but the fact that the studio has existed for half a century and continues to exist is the merit of everyone who worked and is working here. I am endlessly grateful to everyone who took part in the creation of my films.

Actually, if we get them together, we can even fill a small cinema. We often worked with a will, and I felt such support, without which nothing would have been achieved at all.

I am very grateful to Uladzimir Kandrusevich for the cooperation, we made music for some of my cartoons with him, and "Songs of the Lark" and "The Legend of Gusli" would not be so touching and poetic without the live music of Leonid Pavlenok and Nagual group. The actors, my female artists and everyone with whom we were a single creative team, gave confidence of success and the assurance that there are those who can be relied on.

– How did you get to Belarusfilm? Was the choice of a profession answered the call of the heart?

I got here by chance, according to post graduate work assignmnet. Those were the 80s. But on the TV screen I often saw fairly simple works (I am an artist by education), and they were not very impressive. I was assigned to "Belarusfilm". We did painting and filling. And the fact that we delved into the process of drawing a cartoon and went through different stages of its creation was good experience and gave an idea of everyday process of film-production.

– Apparently, you got addicted to animation…

– Probably. First, Alla Matyushevskaya and I, as directors, made our first puppet film "How Vasily kept house", and then other films appeared. Independent work was gone. It was very pleasant to work with puppets. At first they were ordered in Moscow, puppet-makers made our heroes according to our sketches. Later, the puppets played in the entire film.

Now there are new technologies for 3D animation. But in any case, by the end of the project, all the characters are already alive, and you know how they behave, what they are capable of.

– When you shoot a film and let it float freely, what do you feel? Do you follow its assessment by your audience and colleagues?

– The opinion of the public and colleagues is definitely important to me. But there are fundamental points that should be observed. Otherwise, the meaning or style of the film is lost.

Sometimes, if something didn’t work out the way you wanted, you can’t even watch the work. And later, you either admit or regret it every time you watch it.

– You have been working in the field of cartoons creation for 40 years. How has your view of the profession changed and what prevails here: creativity or routine?

– There is no routine here at all, because every time we create a new world. The only thing you always think about is whether we will manage to do everything on time. And this is a certain stress. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the artistic component, otherwise you cannot explain to anyone why one failed to do something, another did not have time, and so on.

In any case, in order to get a good result, you have to find a compromise. go, and the picture says: "This boy is so good that he is probably… quite tasteless."

– The theme of Belarusian culture sounds vividly in your works. Do you understand right from the start that you want to talk to your audience like that?

– The Belarusians have original fairy tales, stories, legends, rich literature. Our distinctive culture is interesting for many people. It is important for me to acquaint the public with our treasures.

– I also like that there is a lot of meaning in your works. In the same "The Legend of Gusli" there is a theme of war and the ability of art to unite people. How do you feel about the presentation of such moments, given that your audience is children?

– I recommend "The Legend of Gusli" for the age of 7+. Before the pandemic, we managed to visit the festival in Bialystok, and there this film of mine was on the 10+ program, and that's good. The children watched attentively, asked interesting questions... While working on this cartoon, I remembered both fairy

Find yours and don't repeat yourself

– Was the transition from production designer to director easy for you?

– At that time there was no work for a production designer. It was a good reason to make a short film, I tried it. Of course, this is an additional responsibility. But also new opportunities.

– How do you look for your unique image, if there is a theme that needs to be embodied on the screen?

– I sweep away commonplace ideas that arise at first (the subconscious mind first gives out what you have seen, read, heard somewhere), and always set myself the task to come up with something new. In my opinion, the theme determines the style. For the film "Spring in Autumn" based on a very expressive and poetic fairy tale by Vladimir Korotkevich, I made watercolor sketches of moods. Gloomy autumn day, restless sea ("horror-madness") of the sick Boy, the Sun. Sometimes you work on the characters first.

For example, the image of Baba Yaga in "Pilipka" could not be found for a long time. This character is famous, but I didn’t want duplication. There are three characters in total, and it was important for me to work out each of them as accurately as possible. Children really like the fairy tale "Pilipka". But I didn’t want the character to boil anyone, which I immediately told the author of the script. Otherwise, what kind of character would it be? It will, in fact, behave like Baba Yaga. When a child I read the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse", I had the feeling that I did not like it when the king was boiled and everyone was happy.

I didn't understand why there was no other way out. Therefore, Pilipka does not boil anyone, and Baba Yaga let him tales and Belarusian mythology. There is an opinion that the most vulnerable – women and children – suffer the most from cataclysms. I mentioned my family history.

Experience is the master key

– Do the pages of your personal biography, the mood during the work on a project always influence your creativity?

– It is inevitable. You create a character, and it makes no difference whether this boy is from the distant past or is our contemporary. The experience just gives an understanding of how the hero can act in certain situations. In "The Legend of Gusli", a nine-year-old boy goes in search of his father, who went to war. And when my brother read the script, he asked, "He's the eldest man in the family, and he left?" And after this important

question, a scene arose where the hero exchanges his pipe for a loaf of bread (because he leaves his mother with the younger children), and only then leaves the house. Of course, without this scene, the film could exist, but this is a very important moment in life...

– How are your films perceived in different countries and does the perception of the audience differ?

– The reaction to the film is always a little different. But children are interested in a hero who helps to answer their questions, concerns, shows an example of behavior. In Germany, for example, films are very carefully selected taking into account the age of the audience.

And in Poland, I remember a boy who, after watching "The Legend of Gusli", asked: "Why is the boy who offends the main character so angry?" It seems to me that if such thoughts arise in a child, it means that he or she realizes the value of another person and it is important for him/her not to harm his/her neighbor.

Alena Drapko. Photo credit: interlocutor's archive.

For symbols to have the power of protective amulets

Someone goes to Charouny Mlyn (Fairy Mill) exhibitionfair for unique gifts that cannot be bought in a regular store, someone – for inspiration. We went to see what interesting things related to national traditions are offered by Belarusian masters today.

TThe last time I visited "Mlyn" was two years ago. And, to be honest, then there were much more items with a national tint. – There were more tourists, and our people also traveled abroad more often, therefore, the demand for products decorated with ornaments and vytinanka (papercutting) was greater, – explains Dmitry Bokhan, a craftsman from Minsk.

Dmitry works with wood. He makes beautiful trays, lamps. He also carves the bases for key rings, holders for napkins and mobile phones, which his wife trims in decoupage technique. Many are decorated with Belarusian ornaments and vytinanka. The married couple also makes "perpetual" calendars with the names of the months, including in the native language.

– We would be happy to make calendars exclusively in the Belarusian language, – says Dmitry. – If only they would be bought...

Roman Cherkashin from Vitebsk has been producing stylish wristwatches, including those with Belarusian ornament, for more than 10 years. Swiss clockwork, a case made of sugar maple, ornament and face inserts are made of African paduk wood. There is also a watch with an ornament that glows in the dark. The effect is achieved with a special epoxy resin. – My first watch, by the way, was made of Belarusian oak with a green ornament, – the master recalls. – I am constantly experimenting. I can make any watch to order. You can choose the type of wood, mechanism, order any engraving on the face. We can make a gift wooden box.

Such designer watch costs 248 rubles, luminous – 198 rubles.

Aleksey Shkirman came to the fair with his sister Marina from Bobruisk. They brought original gift sets for embroidery in the micro-embroidery technique. The set includes instructions, a pillow, a canvas, a thread, a needle, a

base for a pendant (brooch, bracelet), instructions for care. – Trims and threads are of high quality, no need to worry that they may darken or peel off, – Aleksey stresses. – Marina and her husband Dmitry embroider professionally, and I came up with an idea of protective symbols. This theme speaks to me very much. I have embroidered only one pendant in my life – a symbol of wealth (shows). So even a beginner can cope with micro-embroidery. – Why did you decide to make such sets? – I'm interested. – You could sell only finished products. – In order for the symbol to have protective power, you need to embroider it with your own hands, – Aleksey smiles. – Or with the hands of a loved one, – added Marina.

Yulia Kurlenya works in an interesting string art technique. With the help of a hammer, multi-colored threads and small nails, she creates designs on wood. This technique was invented in England in the 16th century. With the help of nails and thread, the English researcher Mary Boole taught children geometry. Among the works of Yulia there are also Belarusian protective symbols. – During my school years, I performed in a folk ensemble, so Belarusian symbols are not alien to me. And there is demand. A man chose the amulets, which he hung over the door in his house. Women, for some reason, most often choose fire – a symbol of the male principle. I had to embroider a decorative panel in the shape of an auroch; it was taken as a gift to Belarusians as far as Sri Lanka.

Once I was ordered a map of Belarus with the inscription "The place where you are always waited for". For an interethnic wedding I made photo frames with crossing contours of the flags of the two countries.

Many artisans at the fair offered stylish linen clothes. – Linen cardigans are in fashion now, – says Tatyana Soldatenko. – Each of my items is unique and inimitable. You must admit that it is not very pleasant for a woman who sits on the panel in the first row (and I make clothes for Belarusian VIPs as well) to see a colleague in the same outfit.

Tatyana sews all her life. She worked with various fabrics including foreign linen. According to her, Belarusian linen is the best in the world.

I really liked the eco-prints "Breath of Herbs" on thin linen, made by Marina Guscha. And also tapestries made of dried herbs and flowers, which look very impressive on the wall. Quite a good alternative to the painting, isn't it? – The tradition of making grass mats has existed since ancient times, – says craftswoman Yulia Gordeyko. – To collect herbs and braid them is a sheer pleasure. While working I enjoy the scent of herbs and flowers. A green rug can also be made from medicinal herbs. Such tapestry will fill the house with the scent of summer and create coziness. Do you know what people do first when they see such a tapestry? They run their hand over it. They stroke so gently that each grass has time to "say hello". And then they inhale the smell. And everyone has their own memories...

And, of course, what "Mlyn" is without embroidered shirts and T-shirts?! Signs of our time have also appeared – masks with cornflowers and Belarusian ornaments. – We sell different clothes, but embroidered T-shirts are always number one in demand, – says Igor Korolev, a representative of Faіny.by. – Cornflowers are my favorite theme. When the Olympic Games were held, athletes from Estonia bought all our T-shirts with cornflowers. It turns out that they also consider cornflowers a national flower. We are not at a stop, we experiment not only with the types of ornament, but also with its color scheme. For example, this cornflower has as many as 18 shades of the same color. The ornament most popular with our customers is "life".

Igor Korolev said that on the eve of Kupalya, an insurance company bought embroidered shirts for the entire team. "We are also proud that Pesnyary perform in our embroidered shirts."

It's nice to see new young faces at the fair. Yan Kostik has recently been involved in embroidered clothing. He works in tandem with his dad, who sews professionally. They started with the market in Zhdanovichi. Now they have their own shop, where they sell casual embroidered clothes: linen dresses for women, hoodies, jacket hoodies with national embroidery... Yan enjoys wearing embroidered shirts made with his own hands.

I also liked the idea that two young mothers implemented during their maternity leave. Viktoria and Zoya came up with a set for Batleika shadow theater. The Theater has 18 figures of fairy-tale heroes on a magnetic basis. They are easily attached to a special screen. With their help, you can play one of four popular fairy tales – "Repka (Turnip)", "Kolobok (Roly-Poly)", "Teremok (Attic story)", "Kurochka Ryaba (Ryaba the Hen)" or invent your own story. My husband and I gave this batleyka to our goddaughter as a birthday present. Just recently we went to visit Ivonka, showed the children a shadow performance. The kids were delighted.

To be honest, this time I wasn’t going to buy anything at Mlyn. But, as practice shows, it is unrealistic to leave the fair empty-handed where there are so many excellent things. Craftsman Viktor Shubin, dad of 6 children, talked so temptingly about his wooden spoons with the symbol of the sun that I wanted to buy one of them for my son. While choosing, I learned a lot of interesting things about the healing properties of oak, pear, Karelian birch, maple, hornbeam, alder. The master knows a lot about the trees from which he carves his crafts. As a result, I bought an oak hair comb and a spoon made of mountain ash. By the way, it was the mountain ash that Viktor advised to plant on a private plot of land close to the road. Since ancient times a tree or a bush with red berries has served as a powerful amulet against any misfortune, envy and the evil eye.

Nadezhda

Drindrozhik.

Photo credit: Alina Mazovets.

Another building block in the effort to preserve heritage

If a person combines the qualities of an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and an inquisitive researcher, the result can be very fruitful. A striking case in point is the personality of Franz Zhilko. His book "Mill Business in Belarus: History and Modernity" was recently presented at the National Library of Belarus. But this publication is a kind of continuation of good deeds that its author has been doing for our country and his small homeland for over a year.

Thanks to the efforts and funds of Franz Zhilko, a cultural and production center was created in the village of Zhodzishki on the basis of a water mill. Those who want to discover unexplored Belarus with its ancient traditions, craftsmanship and inventions of modern masters, who cannot live without creative selfexpression for the benefit of their small homeland, the Motherland as a whole, go to Zhilko Mill.

The ancient base of the mill in Zhodishki (18th century) has a beautiful stonework, the finish looks like a work of art

ZZhodishki water mill was restored by the descendants of its owners. – It is very pleasant that there are people in Belarus who can succeed in their personal business, do business, but at the same time treat their small homeland with great respect. To create a museum of life, to restore a mill, to build a chapel for those who cannot get into the church due to their age... In fact, all this is worth a lot, – said Oksana Knizhnikova, Director General of the National Library of Belarus during the presentation.

The presented new edition is a unique opportunity for interested readers to plunge into the history of their native land, into the history of mill production. The book contains hundreds of photographs of places where water mills once worked and have survived to this day. It reflects the richness of the various architecture of water mills, it contains works of artists, historical information about the mills. – Water mills are a very important historical and cultural heritage of Belarus. Almost forgotten, abandoned, which today requires close attention. Because, as you know, mills (and water mills constituted the majority) in Belarus were very important not only as industrial, but also as social and cultural objects, where people gathered not only to work, but also to share news, to discuss something... I remember when my parents went to the mill, for my father it was like going on holiday as he carried there the most expensive thing, i.e. grain, which he had grown to bring home flour, which would later become bread, – says Tadeusz

Struzhetsky, chairman of the Belarusian Cultural Foundation. –

Besides, the owners of mills used to be not only wealthy, but also very educated people. They enjoyed well-deserved respect with the villagers and city dwellers. This is exactly what the author of the presented publication did, giving a "new life" to the water mill, which once belonged to his family. Thanks to his unindifference and desire to leave important evidence of the past in his homeland, Franz

Zhilko created

Water Mill

Museum of the 18th century in the agrotown of Zhodishki,

Smorgon District.

The countryside here is scenic, with a rich historical background.

Zhodishki is located on the banks of the Viliya River and has been known since the beginning of the 16th century.

The water mill was built here in 1781.

And today every visitor, either from

Belarus or abroad, can not only see it in action, but also get a unique experience. If desired, anyone with their own hands can grind cereals into flour, from which bread is then baked...

I think this is an experience that will give emotions and new knowledge, as well as the author's book about the mill business in the Belarusian lands. At the presentation of the book, by the way, the author also mentioned the case when he, a six or seven-year old boy, came to the mill and was very impressed by the way everything was working there... – It was important for me to record the state of the mill's structures at the beginning of the 21st century. The book is in Belarusian, and when you read it, you will notice that it contains a lot of technical vocabulary, but in Belarusian it was even easier for me to find the right word, – said Franz Zhilko, the author of the book "Mill Business in Belarus: History and Modernity". This book shows more than 150 mills. And these are not only buildings, there are also courtyards. After all, today we know that there are different mills. There are mills where people live today. Water flows under the floor, but living conditions are normal, humidity is not even felt. There are mills where the building is in good condition and no one can decide what they can be rendered suitable for. And they could be used for a variety of purposes, e.g. for housing, exhibitions...

By the way, during the presentation, a copy of the book was solemnly handed over to the National Library.

Franz Zhilko during the presentation

IVAN ZHDANOVICH

IVAN ZHDANOVICH

Alena Drapko