Minsk’s muddled media clampdown could jeopardize warming of relations with the West.
ALDA at International Congress of Belarusan Studies in Kaunas
The Secretary General of ALDA, Antonella Valmorbida, attended the International Congress of Belarusan Studies (Lithuania) invited by the Centre for European Transformation and the International Consortium “EuroBelarus”, from Minsk.
The event, which took place from 2nd to 4th October, reached its 5th edition and gathered more than 400 representatives from different spheres (academics, civil society sector, social activities and more) to discuss about the development of the society in Belarus. ALDA had a place in the seminar dedicated to possible evolution of civil society and its strengthening. The debate was open after the great opportunities offered at the end of the Soviet Union for a possible societal change. Did we meet the opportunities and are there still some paths to follow? The discussion oriented the reflection towards a deepening of the civil society actors towards a more democratic and citizens’ based approach, which not necessarily is transformed into a more institutionalised approach to NGOs’ development.
“This is indeed our way of implementing activities in Belarus and with our local partners, such as the Lev Sapieha Foundation and EuroBelarus. We are very much interested to create a culture of participation and engagement rather than multiplying the numbers of NGOs, which are not the final goal of our action,” said Mrs. Valmorbida during the event.
For all, it was a good opportunity to refocus on the ongoing actions and to identify possible future cooperation.
Video of the discussion (in Russian and English):
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