In the organizer's words:

The Belarusian democracy movement continues to campaign for a democratic Belarus in exile. We make their voices visible in a collage.

Belarus is alive! Even if it seems that dictator Lukashenka has driven the country further and further into isolation years after the protests against his sham election, the democracy movement in exile continues to fight for a free and democratic Belarus.

But it is doing so increasingly away from our attention, despite exhaustion and despite the adversities that the fight for its own survival entails. So it's time to put Belarus and its citizens back in the spotlight.

A lot has happened since the protests in 2020. Lukashenka's regime is trying to nip any form of protest in the bud and is cracking down on its own population with undiminished severity. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have left the country and are now living in exile - in Warsaw, Vilnius and Berlin.

Among them are not only political activists, but also musicians, writers, artists and journalists. They all have their own history and an individual perspective on the past, present and future of their country. And despite all of this, it is still characterized by great hope.

We would like to make these voices audible in a collage of talks, literature and music. These are the voices that give hope, that will shape the future of Belarus.

The guests are:

🐾VolhaHapeyeva: writer, poet, translator, linguist. Volha Hapeyeva is the author of 15 books written in Belarusian and her poems have been translated into more than 15 languages.

VeranikaKruhlova: singer, theater artist. Veranika Kruhlova is a well-known Belarusian ethno-singer and founder of the legendary band KRIWI.

🐾OlgaLoiko: Plan B journalist. Olga Loiko was editor-in-chief of the politics and business section of the Belarusian private web portal TUT.BY. The Belarusian authorities closed TUT.BY after the protests against the presidential elections in August 2020, and since 2023 she has been editor-in-chief of the online medium Plan B. with a focus on Belarusian business and politics.

🐾MarkoMartin: writer. Marko Martin left the GDR in May 1989 as a conscientious objector and, when not traveling, lives as a writer in Berlin.

🐾UladzimirMatskevich: Philosopher and political activist. He is considered one of the best-known public intellectuals in Belarus. In the 1990s, he took part in various elections, both as a candidate for different parties and as an election campaign consultant. He was also repeatedly involved in educational reforms and projects.

🐾MariaRudz: Chairwoman of RAZAM e.V., the first and now largest nationwide interest group for people from Belarus living in Germany. RAZAM* means "together" in Belarusian. Rudz has been the association's first chairwoman since the beginning of 2025.

🐾PalinaŠarėnda-Panasjuk: Political activist. Pаlina Šarėnda-Panasjuk was born in Minsk and graduated in history from the State University of Brest (France) in 1998. However, the establishment of the pro-Russian dictatorship in Belarus prompted her to devote herself professionally to politics out of conviction and to actively fight Lukashenko's regime.

🐾LavonVolski: musician. Lavon Volski is a legend of Belarusian alternative and rock music. With bands such as Mroya, N.R.M. or Kramambulya and countless music projects, he has shaped the Belarusian music and cultural landscape like no other.

🐾ZmicierVishniou: publisher, poet, writer. Zmicier Vishniou is a co-founder of the literary movement Bum-Bam-Lit. He was director of the Halijafy publishing house from 2007 to 2022.

Moderation:

🐾AliceBota: Journalist, DIE ZEIT. Alice Bota was born in 1979 in Krapkowice, Poland. Her family emigrated to northern Germany in 1988. She studied political science and modern German literature in Kiel, Poznan, Berlin and Potsdam. She writes mainly about Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Her book "The Women of Belarus: Of Revolution, Courage and the Drive for Freedom" was published in 2021.

🐾IngoPetz: Journalist, decoder. Ingo Petz is head of the Belarus project and a partner at the non-profit media platform dekoder.org. In political analyses and cultural-historical essays, he has been dealing with Eastern Europe and Belarus in particular for over 25 years.

This is an event organized by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, dekóder, the German Association for East European Studies, the Protestant Church in Germany and the taz as part of the taz Talk.

The event will take place in the taz Kantine and via livestream. If you would like to attend the event in the taz Kantine, please register via: https://taz.de/Freiheitskaempfe-in-Osteuropa/!vn6127723/

Price information:

Participation is only possible with a pre-booked ticket. We therefore ask you to register via the link above. Places are limited, admission is free. Access to the event is barrier-free.