On March 15th, 2023, a webinar on collaboration between Finnish and Belarusian NGOs was held under the patronage of the leader of democratic Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and the Secretary of State of Finland, Johanna Sumuvuori.
It involved Finnish and Belarusian NGOs and was attended by the Finnish Ambassador to Lithuania Arya Makkonen and representatives of Belarusian NGOs and communities specializing in human rights, healthcare, education, media, religion, environment protection, and other fields.
The webinar was one of the outcomes of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's visit to Finland in December 2022. During her meeting with Johanna Sumuvuori, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya raised the issue of strengthening cooperation between democratic Belarus and Finland, including through the collaboration of civil society organizations.
The webinar was held to introduce same-field Belarusian and Finnish NGOs to each other so that they could develop long-term cooperation and friendship. Such webinars could become a good practice for communication with civil society in other countries.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “There are several things we can do together. Let me name them:
- First, we can organize joint projects in such areas as education, culture, ecology, journalism, etc.
- Second, we can share experiences through internships, scholarships, and various exchanges.
- Third, we can participate together in a wide range of international events.
- Fourth, our Finnish friends can provide training for activists of Belarusian NGOs.
We can learn from Finland and Finnish NGOs how to build a truly free society. I am confident that if we come forward with concrete ideas and proposals, we will manage to secure the necessary assistance. And the Finnish government will help us with that”.
