MINSK FORUM XVIII. Belarus in Upheaval. Review of the Situation and Future Perspectives

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Programme and conference VIDEO

Conference programme:

WEDNESDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2020


11 AM – 12 PM (CET)

OPENING

Markus Meckel, Chairman of the German-Belarusian Society, former foreign minister

WELCOMING ADDRESS

Heiko Maas, German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Candidate in the presidential elections in Belarus 2020

Zbigniew Rau, Minster of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

KEYNOTE

Timothy Snyder, Professor of History at Yale University and Permanent Fellow at the Vienna Institute for Human Sciences

Christian F. Trippe (Member of the Board of the German-Belarusian Society, Head of Department for Eastern Europe at Deutsche Welle) will lead through the conference programme.

1 PM – 2 PM (CET)

PANEL 1

BELARUS AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF PROTEST MOVEMENT: HOW TO OVERCOME THE POLITICAL IMPASSE

MODERATOR

Jakob Wöllenstein, Head of the Belarus Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

SPEAKERS

Valery Karbalevich, Political scientist in the analysis centre “Strategija”

Pavel Latushka, Former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council and Head of National Anti-Crisis Management

Aksana Shelest, Sociologist, Centre for European Transformation

Dzmitry Bandarchuk, Co-founder of the citizens’ committee in Hrodna

Andrey Karpeka, Urbanist, Minsk Urban Platform

Vadim Mojeiko, Analyst, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies

2.30 PM – 3.30 PM (CET)

PANEL 2

BELARUS AND ITS NEIGHBORS. PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION

MODERATOR

Cornelius Ochmann, Executive Member of the Board of the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation, Member of the Board of the German-Belarusian Society

INTRODUCTION

Marcin Przydacz, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

SPEAKERS

Margarita Šešelgytė, Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University

Viktar Shadurski, Historian, expert on foreign relations

Michael Siebert, Director for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia at the German Federal Foreign Office

Nadezhda Arbatova, Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Moscow

Anna Maria Dyner, Analyst, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw

 

THURSDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2020


10 AM – 11.30 AM (CET)

PANEL 3

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC MODEL

WELCOMING ADDRESS

Manfred Huterer, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Belarus

MODERATOR

Stefan Kaegebein, Regional Director Eastern Europe, German Eastern Business Association

SPEAKERS

Aliaksandr Chubryk, Director of the IPM Research Center

Robert Kirchner, Deputy Team Leader of the German Economic Team

Kateryna Bornukova, Economist, Belarusian Research and Outreach Center

Eugeniy Lobanov, Director of the Center for Environmental Solutions

Jeroen Willems, Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), European Commission

COMMENTATORS

Aleś Alachnovič, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s representative on economic reforms; Stefan Hoffmann, CEO of the North IT Group

Stefan Hoffmann, CEO of the North IT Group

This economic panel of Minsk Forum XVIII is also part of the Eastern Partnership Business Days, which are jointly organized by the German Eastern Business Association, the Federal Foreign Office, NRW.Global Business and the EU Commission.

12 PM – 1 PM (CET)

PANEL 4

BEYOND MINSK: CURRENT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE REGIONS

MODERATOR

Artyom Shraibman, Political Analyst

SPEAKERS

Tatsiana Karatkevich, Co-spokes­person of the citizens’ movement “Tell the truth”

Siarhei Tarasiuk, Director of the International Foundation for Rural Development

Volha Karach, Head of “Nash Dom” International Civic Initiatives Centre

Aliaksandr Yarashuk, President of the Belarusian Congress Of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP)

Klara Geywitz, Deputy Federal Chair of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)

1 PM – 2.30 PM (CET)

CLOSING DISCUSSION

PERSPECTIVES FOR BELARUS

MODERATOR

Markus Meckel, Chairman of the German-Belarusian Society, former foreign minister

SPEAKERS

Franak Vyachorka, International Relations Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Mark Hauptmann, Member of the German Parliament, Chairman of the German-Belarusian Parliamentarians’ Group in the German Bundestag

Veranika Tsapkala, Head of Valery Tsapkala’s Charitable Foundation “Belarus of the Future”

Katsyaryna Shmatsina, Analyst, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies

Andrey Dzmitriyeu, Co-spokesperson for the citizens’ movement “Tell the truth”

Dirk Schuebel, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus

Michael Georg Link, Member of the German Parliament, Vice Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly