Other Events

 On May 4, on the initiative of the Office for a Democratic Belarus (Brussels), the United World College of the Adriatic (Triest, Italy) organized an information evening dedicated to the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe. The presentation was held in the framework of extra curriculum student activities called Focus.

Excerpts from the article by Professor Yury Bandazheusky

Today, after more than 20 years after explosion at the Chernobyl power plant, people continue to experience the consequences of this accident. Many questions that came with this tragedy remain unanswered. Above all is the question of what will happen to the people who face radioactivity every day living their lives in polluted areas. The aim of this article is to demonstrate some little-known, and possibly kept back on purpose, facts and proofs of medical affects on big groups of people who encounter radioactive agents. The information below sheds some light on health problems experienced by people living on the European territory of the former USSR. 

Belarusian writer Artur Klinau presents his new book to the French and Belgian audience

On November 7 – 12, 2007 Office for a Democratic Belarus organized a literary tour of Artur Klinau, Belarusian writer and artist. The author presented his new book “Minsk. The Sun City of Dreams” in Paris and in Brussels.

Artur Klinau. Belarusian writer and photographer

Despite the rainy weather in Belgium, the Belarusian movie night organised by the Office for a Democratic Belarus and the Hanse-Office helped to put the Brussels public in summer mood.

The Institute of Slavic Studies at the Technical University of Dresden is a place, where the whole Slavonic world can be found under the same roof. The emphasis is being placed on Russian, Polish and Czech language and culture. However, increasingly more attention is given to other Slavonic cultures, especially to those, which are barely known even among the Slavicist scientific community. Thus, this year a semester-long seminar “Belarusian Language and Culture” was organized. The special emphasis was placed on the interaction of the Belarusian national culture with other cultures and languages which are present in the region.

The Belarusian Freedom Day was marked by a number of cultural events in Brussels. The holiday, celebrated on the 25th of March, commemorates the Belarusian People’s Republic, proclaimed in 1918. The Freedom Day is traditionally ignored by the Belarusian authorities on one hand, and widely celebrated by the Belarusian opposition on another. Last year’s Freedom Day was a culmination of the street protests in Minsk.  Screening of the documentary film “Ploshcha” (‘the Square’) by the famous Belarusian dissident film director Yury Khashchavatski took place on the 24th of March.

The screening was followed by the concert of the Slovak singer Petra Jordan. The concert was held as a sign of solidarity with Belarus. The event proved to be a real success: the concert and the film were visited by more than 70 people.