PANEL DISCUSSION AT THE ASPEN SECURITY FORUM
On July 16, during the Aspen Security Forum, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in the panel discussion “Continental Drift? Europe in Transition” alongside the Secretary General of the European External Action Service, Belén Martínez Carbonell; the Minister of Defense and Foreign Trade of Belgium, Theo Francken; and the Minister of Justice and Security of the Netherlands, David van Weel. The discussion was moderated by Peter Spiegel of The Washington Post.
TUTAKA FESTIVAL
From July 17 to 19, the TUTAKA Festival in Poland brought together Belarusians from across the world. Participants discussed issues affecting the Belarusian community, debated the country’s future, explored Belarusian initiatives, enjoyed music, and spent time together. One of the highlights was a Q&A session with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, where attendees had the opportunity to ask questions directly.
INITIATIVE TO RAISE THE WHITE-RED-WHITE FLAG AT THE GRUNWALD BATTLEFIELD
On July 14, sent letters to the Marshal of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Marcin Kuchciński, and the management of the Grunwald Battle Museum, asking them to consider raising the historic white-red-white Belarusian flag at the Grunwald Battlefield. In doing so, she expressed support for the civic initiative launched by Belarusians that has already gathered more than a thousand signatures from Belarusian politicians, cultural and public figures, historians, and activists.
MEETING WITH THE AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
On July 15, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Diplomatic Advisor, Dzianis Kuchynski, and representatives of Belarusian CSOs held a meeting with the Director for Eastern Europe at Austria’s Ministry for European and International Affairs, Thomas Mühlmann. Participants included the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Viasna Human Rights Centre, the Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, and the Belarusian Council for Culture. Their representatives spoke about the current situation in Belarus, presented their work, and discussed ways to continue cooperation following Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s previous visits to Austria.
REPRESSION AGAINST BELARUSIAN CULTURE
The regime in Belarus forced brands Honar, LSTR Adzenne, and Ragna to cease operations. The Kupalle celebration at the Dukora Estate near Minsk and the Our Grunwald Festival were also cancelled. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya responded to the growing pressure on Belarusian brands and cultural events: “Our culture cannot simply be erased because it lives within each of us. We will always carry it in our hearts. Being Belarusian can take many forms: quiet or outspoken, traditional or modern, expressed through an embroidered shirt or a hoodie, through a folk song or a new one. It is who we are. And no ban will ever change that”.
JUNE 2026 OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
June 2026 was marked by a further escalation of pressure on Belarus’s academic community, the continued militarization of school education, and new attempts to isolate Belarusian applicants from international education. At the same time, outside Belarus, work continued on the concept for reforming the country’s education system, international academic cooperation expanded, and expert discussions took place on the future of Belarusian science, culture, and universities in exile. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Education and Science, Pavel Tereshkovich, prepared a comprehensive overview of developments both inside and outside Belarus.
NEW BELARUS CONFERENCE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
The New Belarus Conference is set to take place in Warsaw on August 8–9, bringing together Belarusians from around the world to discuss the key challenges, opportunities, and priorities facing the democratic movement. The program, published last week, includes debates, project presentations, leadership appointments, an awards ceremony, and six key panel discussions.
MEDIA
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gave interviews to Nasha Niva (Belarus), De Volkskrant (the Netherlands), The Sun (the United Kingdom), and Avvenire (Italy).
