civil society

Gallery Ў hosts a presentation of a book on Ales Bialiatski in Minsk. The Center for Legal Transformation trains the first group under its not-for-profit Law School. A Minsk court orders compensation to former political prisoner Dmitry Bondarenko.

BISS shares plans for 2013. The public announcement of the foundation of the Vital...

Belarus has mandatory legal conscription, but Alexander Lukashenka has ordered the preparation of a law on alternative civilian service in 2013.

For a long time the absence of this law has been putting many young people in a legal trap of having such a right and but having no possibility to exercise it.

But rather than solve the problem, the law is much more likely to become...

With the New Year celebration just around the corner, it is time to think about the list of top civic actions in 2012.  As a disclaimer, the goal of the list is to highlight achievement and recap success, often overlooked in the repressive environment.

Event of the Year:  Educators and Researchers

We could not choose between significant events...

The Belarusian authorities trade the national identity of Belarusians in exchange for economic subsidies from Russia.

Constitutional guarantees of equal rights of the two official languages actually do not work. The majority of Belarusians react indifferently to that fact, as they do in most situations. But the civil society resists russification and tries to prove that Belarusian...

In November, civil society representatives convened in Minsk to vote on the Concept of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EAP CSF). The adopted version of the Concept favours an expansive interpretation of the civil society mission and was criticised by some groups as pushing civil society organisations on the road of political conflict with the ...

The Marketplace of Youth Initiatives announces results in Brest. Fond of Ideas conducts a talk show on corporate social responsibility. The Liberal Club presents an alternative view on public administration reform. The Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities presents national polling results. Euroradio accreditation in Belarus is renewed. Online security for dummies.

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Politicians in social networks, civil society in politics, geopolitical preferences of Belarusians and the state of small business were, among other topics, in the focus of Belarusian analysts over the last few weeks. 

Belarusian third sector demonstrates a remarkable diversity of activities - from campaigns to save trees and energy to initiatives against drug abuse and new student organisations. 

New student association - BOSS. On October 5, Minsk hosted a conference on student self-government, where students discussed the situation with self-government in the Belarusian...

In Belarus, being an academic means that you work in an institution controlled by the state. Sometimes you cannot be a true scholar because you have to produce the "official truth". Otherwise you risk being repressed for disloyalty.

A good illustration of that is last month’s case of Hrodna University in western Belarus, where a number of prominent university teachers...

Belarusian analysts focus on the role and strategy of the Belarusian opposition, the balance of powers before the parliamentary elections, sources of legitimacy of Alexander Lukashenka and Schengen visas for Belarusians. 

Belarusian scholars devoted significant attention to the structure and of the Belarusian society and what drives local democracy and motivation of Belarusians. 

Belarusian analytical reports and papers focused on effectiveness of foreign aid to Belarusian civil society, impact of poverty on political activism and foreign policy. Amnesty International and the US Department of State published their annual human rights reports which touch upon the situation in Belarus. 

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