The cross-campus Young European Federalists (JEF) student group invites you to an online discussion event about the perspectives for a democratic future for Belarus. Since the rigged presidential election of last August, the pro-democratic opposition has been consistently mobilising peaceful demonstrations against Alexander Lukashenko's autocratic regime that has governed the country since 1994.
In the past months, the Belarusian opposition has grown stronger than ever before, but Lukashenko's regime has still remained in place. What are the possible trajectories for Belarus in the coming months? How should we assess what the Belarusian pro-democratic movement has achieved so far?
The discussion takes place one day before Freedom Day, celebrated yearly by pro-democratic movements in Belarus. It also coincides with the European-wide Democracy Under Pressure action week by JEF-Europe, held in March every year.
Our panel will feature three Belarusian students from the College of Europe: Palina, Volya and Olga. Moreover, we will have two external guests:
- Katsiaryna LOZKA: PhD Fellow at the University of Ghent and at United Nations University - CRIS (Bruges); College of Europe alumna
- Andreï VAITOVICH: Franco-Belarusian freelance journalist (worked for Radio France Internationale, Euronews, RFE/RL)
The event is open for all College of Europe students, as well as for the wider public. Registration is required for joining the event. The Webex connection link will be sent to participants who have signed up for the event by 12:00 Brussels time on Wednesday 24 March.
For more information contact juuso.jarviniemi@coleurope.eu