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
