UNICEF and HC Dinamo Minsk signed a Memorandum of Understanding

UNICEF in Belarus and HC Dinamo Minsk joined forces to draw attention to the responsible parenting and work with adolescents and signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Within the framework of the national campaign “Home without Violence”, which is taking place in Belarus till the end of April, the hockey club Dinamo Minsk and UNICEF talked about cooperation plans for 2017. The main areas of cooperation for the protection of children’s rights are the popularization of non-violent methods of children's upbringing and work with adolescents.

The problem of domestic violence is still actual. According to the preliminary national study conducted in 2016 by UNICEF in cooperation with a number of agencies, concerned that more than 30% of parents still believe that the proper upbringing of a child does include physical punishment.

Adolescents and youth are another priority of the cooperation. The results of the latest UNICEF study show that most teenagers and young people do not consider a single drug use as a problem. They not only do not realize their problematic behavior, but also do not ask for help when it is vitally important.

Sport is an important platform for physical and spiritual upbringing of children as well as for building a society where there is no place for discrimination and violence. During the matches fans will be able not only to enjoy the game, but also to learn more about current issues of children’s rights in Belarus with the help of special campaigns, videos with famous hockey players and other information material.

According to Anatoly Kurilets, General Director of HC Dinamo Minsk, the club pays special attention to family audiences and work with children: "Cooperation with UNICEF is designed to increase the effectiveness of this work, as well as to bring out the issues of responsible parenthood and healthy lifestyles in our society ".

Rashed Mustafa Sarwar, the UNICEF Representative in Belarus, stated that “UNICEF is actively working with sports organizations around the world to draw public attention to this and other topics. Among UNICEF partners are football clubs Barcelona and Manchester United; such eminent sportsmen as David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic, and many others. "We are very happy that our sports partners family has increased, and HC Dinamo Minsk has become a partner of UNICEF in Belarus.”

"Through the activities for teenagers, we are going to address these complex issues and show that there is a way out from the most difficult situations ," commented Evgeny Lisovets, the defender of HC Dinamo Minsk.

Alexander Pavlovich, the forward of HC Dinamo Minsk, said: "The upbringing of children is the most difficult thing in the world. Many of our fans have families. We are always very happy to see that even during the games many of fans come to cheer us with the whole family, with the children. I hope that there will be more of them now!".