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- Civil Society and Education
– The organizing committee of the International Congress of Researchers of Belarus invites representatives of the academic community to nominate scientific publications for the award for the best scientific publication in the field of social and humanitarian disciplines in 2022. The purpose of the award is to recognize the best achievements in the social and human sciences, to encourage research work and to promote the improvement of the quality of scientific research. Proposals can be sent to the email address: premija@ palityka.org until May 10, 2023. The award ceremony will take place on September 23, 2023 during the XI International Congress of Belarusian Scientists in Gdansk (Poland). The sponsors of the award are: the Belarusian Charitable Foundation (London) and the Kipel family (USA).
– The new telegram channel of the project “Octopus: Education for the Belarusian Children of Today and Tomorrow” has a publication about Belarusian schools and classes for children in Poland, England and Sweden. According to the published information, children, at the request of their parents, will now be able to study the Belarusian language in Swedish schools; Sunday Belarusian school opened in London, which invites you to the first lesson of “Welcoming Spring”; in Poland, wide educational opportunities for children – from photography courses to English classes – are provided by the school of arts. M. Ravienski, “Belarusian Solidarity Center” – and educational initiatives in Wroclaw and Bialystok.
– The first issue of the popular scientific journal in the Belarusian language “Pamyłka” has been published. Its creators are Belarusian scientists who intend to tell a wide audience about the latest scientific achievements in the Belarusian language. Also, the creators of the journal invite editors and authors to their team and note that it is not necessary to have any academic degree to write articles for the journal. The publication of the journal is carried out at the expense of donations, and the materials themselves are published with permission for further distribution, provided that the author is indicated – in this way the creators of the journal want to encourage the unlimited spread of scientific knowledge.
– “Belarusian Youth Hub” invites you to evening classes in the Belarusian language on Tuesdays, which are conducted by experienced Belarusian teachers from the University of Warsaw. Classes are held for adults and are of a practical nature (they help to learn how to use the Belarusian language in everyday life). Participation in classes is free, but students can leave a donation, which will be directed to help Belarusian political prisoners. To participate, you need to register.
– Homel activist and volunteer, former teacher Anastasia Sasykbayeva, after moving to Poland, opened the Belarusian club for children “Spadchyna” (“Heritage”) in Wroclaw. During studies, children learn the Belarusian language, attend theatre classes and museums, watch thematic films. In the future, outdoor activities and picnics, excursions, tourist trips are expected. The main thing, according to the founder of the club, is for the children to make friends and become a community whose focus is on the Belarusian language and culture. Sasykbaeva spoke about the activities of the club in an interview.
– Belarusian writer and translator Natalka Kharytaniuk launched the project “English with Natalka”, which publishes online English lessons for children. Classes are conducted in Belarusian and English using animation and a game component.
– Belarusian cultural activists and educators offer parents of children living in Poland to take a survey on the topic of additional education for Belarusian children. The survey is conducted in order to determine how significant the need of Belarusians is for their children to study such subjects as the Belarusian language, history, literature, etc., in addition to the basic education they receive in Polish schools. The answers of the survey participants can strengthen the arguments of Belarusian organizations in the dialogue with the Polish authorities about the possibility of implementing various Belarusian edu cational projects in Poland.
– “Malanka Live” channel hosted a discussion on the state policy in the field of education in Belarus. The discussion was attended by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskya’s advisor on education and science, EHU professor Tatsiana Shchytsova and representatives of Belarusian youth organizations – the secretary of the Belarusian National Youth Council “Rada” Dzmitry Herylovich, the secretary for external relations of “the Belarusian Students Community“ Elizaveta Dauhulevich, an activist of the community “Belarusian students of the Czech Republic“ Aliaksandr Parshankou. The participants discussed the problem of youth policy in modern Belarus, revealing the emphatically authoritarian nature of the state’s participation in it, talked about how the state can implement youth policy in different ways in democratic countries, and shared their vision of possible ways to reform the national education system in Belarus.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s advisor on education and science, Tatsiana Shchytsova, commented on the results of a recent poll conducted by the Chatham House initiative, according to which 70% of Belarusians surveyed are in favor of keeping two state languages: “This is one of the main and most difficult challenges for modern democratic forces. I am convinced that it would be against the interests of the Belarusian language, and would be contrary to the special ethos that is associated with it, if we started to promote it by force”.
– Consultant of the Center for New Ideas, education expert Tatsiana Kavalionak spoke in an interview about the main problems of the education system in Belarus and made an overview of the necessary reforms that could solve them if the state system is democratized: open dialogue in society, rejuvenation and professionalization of personnel, auto nomy of institutions education, equal opportunities for students, improved infrastructure and technological innovation in the future – instead of militarization, ideologization, total control and social inequality in today’s Belarus.
- Repressions
– Political scientists, prominent representatives of the Belarusian expert community Tatsiana Kuzina and Valeryja Kastsiuhova were sentenced to 10 years in prison each. The court found them guilty of conspiracy to seize power, inciting hatred and calling for action against national security. Valeryja Kastsiuhova is the editor of the expert Internet resources “Our Opinion”, “Belarusian Yearbook”, and led the monitoring group of experts “Belarus in Focus”. Tatsina Kuzina is the organizer of the “Sympa School of Young Managers of Public Administration”, a school of young experts in the field of management.
– On March 10, a wellknown teacher of Italian, a former associate professor at Minsk State Linguistic University, political prisoner Natalya Dulina was sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony, found guilty of “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participate in them” (Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) . The trial was held behind closed doors. The judge who delivered the verdict is Victoria Polishchuk.
– Culturologist, member of the main composition of the Coordinating Council, political prisoner Aksana Zaretskaya, who was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them”, two days after the verdict was delivered from the pretrial detention center to the hospital being unconscious. The reasons for the deterioration of health remain unknown. Aksana Zaretskaya is a wellknown specialist in the field of etiquette and business communications. The EHU academic community expressed support for Zaretskaya in connection with her sentencing.
– The wellknown educator Jauhen Liviant, while imprisoned after he and his family were detained for participating in protest marches, gave an interview to a Belarusian propagandist in which he expresses regret about his participation in the protests.
– Candidate of Biological Sciences Natalia Matusevich was detained in Mahiliou. The detention was carried out by the GUBOPiK, a repressive department that the Lithuanian parliament called for to recognize as a terrorist organization. A video published on the progovernment Telegram channel reports that the woman allegedly registered in the “Peramoga plan” chatbot, but the screenshots show that this registration was made in a fake chatbot, probably created by the security forces themselves. In the video, a woman is threatened with a criminal case against her.
– Detained since midMarch, the scientist Yury Adamau was placed in SIZO1 in Valadarskaha street (Minsk). Adamau is a coauthor of the new popular science magazine “Pamyłka”.
– New details of the repressions of teachers at the BSU lyceum became known: KGB officers compiled lists of teachers for dismissal, which included the names of about 30 employees of the lyceum – participants in the protests, people who made donations to support various protest initiatives, and those who signed for alternative candidates in 2020 election campaign time
– For students of the agricultural college of Luninets, the local prosecutor’s office staged a performance in the assembly hall in the form of taking into custody a 43yearold resident of Luninets. The man was accused of “organizing group actions that grossly violate public order” for protest comments on the Internet. According to the press service of the prosecutor’s office, the event was held in order to prevent possible similar crimes.
– A student from Orsha was convicted for subscribing to channels recognized by the Belarusian regime as extremist, as well as for posting on his page the logo of the “Voice” platform, also recognized as extremist by the authorities. By court decision, the young man was fined 925 rubles.
- Regime politics
– On March 24, in the National Press Center of the Republic of Belarus, a round table “Historical and cultural bonds of Belarus and Russia” was held in a hybrid format, timed to coincide with the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia. Speakers from Russia and Belarus spoke at the event, incl. representatives of the leadership of specialized institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus. The main ideological thesis of the speeches was the assertion that Belarus and Russia have a common history, which predetermines the need for their political union in the present.
– Deputy Minister of Education Aliaksandr Kadlubay, speaking about militarypatriotic education and the work of military instructors, said that the role of teachers, educators, lecturers in the modern education system is to be “conductors of state ideology” at the republican seminar on militarypatriotic education in educational institutions.
– Militaristic actions were held all over Belarus in kindergartens and schools with the participation of the military and the use of military equipment and weapons, timed to coincide with February 23. “Radio Liberty” reviewed such events and took a comment from a psychologist on the topic of their impact on the psyche of children: “the danger lies not at all where people usually think”.
– Three teachers of Belarusian universities Maryia Kaniushkevich, Iryna Zaitsava, Elena Muratava – will take part in a conference dedicated to Russian military propaganda, which will be held in Luhansk, occupied by Russia. It is known that Professor of the Department of Journalism of the Faculty of History, Communication and Tourism of Hrodna State University Maryia Kaniushkevich carried out, on the order of the KGB, a linguistic examination of a protest leaflet, which, in her opinion, contained an insult to Lukashenka, which became evidence of the guilt of the defendant in a repressive criminal case. Iryna Zaitsava is a former deputy of the Luhansk Regional Council, a participant in proRussian ideological events, included in the Peacemaker database for visiting Crimea in 2016.
– Headmaster of the School V.A. Khamchanouski agrotown of Kliastitsy, Rasony district, who chaired the election commission in 2020, called the youth of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries in an interview a “generation of Nazis”.
– Uladzimir Habrau, a regime supporter and former soldier who runs the “SKIF” parami litary youth training center in Rechytsa, gave a new exhibit to the museum at the local gymnasium – a sledgehammer with the Wagner PMC logo and an autograph, according to Habrau, “from one of founders of the company. The sledgehammer is the symbol of the execution weapon for military personnel in this campaign, who were considered “traitors”.
– A student from Homel who won the competition received a ticket to the Artek camp in Russianoccupied Crimea as a prize. The competition itself was held under the auspices of the –Russian House– in Homel an organization that actively promotes the ideas of the “Russian world”.
– Members of the youth movement at the St. Elisabeth Monastery in Minsk attended the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus on the “Stalin Line”. At the event, children were given a ride on military equipment, taught to shoot from pneumatic guns, to assemble and disassemble weapons.
– The representative of the human rights organization “Human Constanta” commented on the intention of the authorities to strengthen control over the stay of children on the Internet. According to him, we are talking about an even larger and rather rude blocking of content, which will affect both children and adults: “Today, more than 10,000 identifiers of Internet resources have been blocked in Belarus. At least 19 percent of this is blocked for political reasons: independent media, human rights organizations, and so on. Now the current authorities are faced with the question of what steps are missing to block the Internet even more”
– There is evidence that the administration of one of the schools in Brest region is forcing the parent of a student to donate money to the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, despite the fact that the student is not a member of this progovernment organization. In case of refusal to donate money, according to the testimony of the parent, the administration threatens to register the student’s parents at SOP (special committee for teens). According to “Belsat”, this practice is not an isolated case, but is common in schools in the Leninski district of Brest, in particular in school No. 7, which is run by the wife of the former head of the KGB in the Brest region, Sviatlana Yazerskaya.
