Europa Newswire.
Photo by: Luiz Rampelotto.
Geneva/Minsk/New York, 17 November 2009 —The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) marked International Students Day by awarding five-year university scholarships to three students in Belarus in two separate ceremonies. The scholarships are funded by tennis champion Maria Sharapova as part of a wider UNDP effort to help overcome the legacy of the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986. The students come from Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus and will pursue degrees in fine arts, two at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and one at the Belarusian State University. The scholarship program was launched in September 2008 as a joint initiative between the Maria Sharapova Foundation and UNDP, where Sharapova serves as a Goodwill Ambassador. A total of 12 fine arts scholarships will be awarded in the first four years of the US$210,000 program.
“Investing
in youth is the key to a better future,” said Sharapova, who has family
roots in Gomel, Belarus. “My aim is to give talented young people a
chance to realize their full potential.” Sharapova chose fine arts for
the scholarships because she feels education systems sometimes neglect the
field.
Source: UNDP.
