OSCE Election Experts to Visit Minsk for Consultations. Belarusian election officials will hold consultations with representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Minsk in the latter half of January, said Lidziya Yarmoshyna, head of the central election commission on December 17. The consultations will focus on changes to Belarus’ election regulations recommended by the international organization. Alyaksandr Lukas[...]

The Movement for Freedom and the Office for a Democratic Belarus Launched a Campaign for the Reduction of Schengen Visa Costs for Belarusian Citizens. The Movement for Freedom and the Office for a Democratic Belarus (Brussels) today sent out letters to all governments of the countries -- signatories to the Schengen Agreement with an appeal to re-examine their policies regarding fees and procedures of issuing Schengen visas for Belarusian citizens. Addressi[...]

Belarusian Poster Art Travelling Exhibition in Berlin & Dresden Brussels is Next Stop. From October 24 to November 3, 2008, an exhibition of Belarusian posters, entitled “Visual Code of the Time: Post-Soviet Art in Belarus”, was on display in Berlin’s Für Fortgeschrittene gallery. Berlin is the second European capital that hosted the travelling exhibition organised by the Office for a Democratic Belarus with the support of the Bratislava office of the Germ[...]

On 7 October 2008, “Visual code of the time: post-Soviet poster art in Belarus” opened in Warsaw’s Zoya gallery. The Polish capital is the first European city that hosts the travelling exhibition, organised by the Office for a Democratic Belarus with the help of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In the framework of this project, works of prominent Belarusian designers are going to be seen by audiences in various c[...]

Belarusian Poster Art Travelling Exhibition in Warsaw, Berlin and Dresden The Office for a Democratic Belarus is pleased to present a travelling exhibition of the Belarusian poster art, entitled "Visual code of the time: post-Soviet poster art in Belarus", which provides comprehensive insight into a particular aspect of Belarusian history and culture of the late Soviet era. The display features the works of 15 outstanding representatives of poster art that[...]

Blast at Concert in Minsk About 50 people were wounded by a home-made bomb in Minsk on Friday, July 3 at an Independence Day concert attended by President Aliaxandr Lukashenka. The injured were mainly young people, although they included at least two small children aged five and six. Presidential spokesman Pavel Legki told Reuters Lukashenka "reached the site of the explosion within several minutes". The second, unexploded bomb had been found near the blas[...]

How to Lower Schengen Visa Fees for Belarusians By Dzianis Melyantsou and Vitali Silitski (abstracts) Despite the fact that an increase in visa fees was caused by objective reasons (the accession of the new EU member states to the Schengen Zone, the introduction of a common electronic data base and a more complicated visa-issue procedure), this provoked a negative reaction from both official Minsk and the Belarusian civil society, a rare demonstration of c[...]

Belarusian Issue at NATO PA Session in Berlin On May 24-27, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held its spring session. This year, parliamentarians from the NATO member states and associate members, partner countries, representatives of interparliamentary assemblies and observers gathered in the German capital Berlin. Many topics were discussed during the meetings of the Assembly’s five committees and at the plenary session, including the cooperation of the N[...]

Information Evening on Chernobyl in the United World College of the Adriatic 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. The United World Colleges is a unique net of education[...]

Debates in the EP on Costs of Schengen Visas for Belarusians and Ukrainians On April 21, at the beginning of the European Parliament’s session in Strasbourg (France), the vice-president of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Barrot, presented a statement on cost of a Schengen visa for citizens of Ukraine and Belarus. His intervention was followed by a debate. On Belarus, the Commissioner said that the current regulations will not be reviewed in the near fu[...]