Information technologies will facilitate NGO development, while the economic stagnation in Belarus will impede it.
Summary
In 2019, Belarusian civil society organizations (CSO) achieved some success in advocacy, often thanks to protests. Most organizations do not even try to enter advisory councils, which have a severely limited opportunity to make significant inputs.
Fundraising for CSOs and monetization of their core activities have been showing rapid growth, although the fiscal legislation remains adverse towards the functioning and development of civil society. LGBT topics polarize society and stimulate the evolution of CSOs with opposing views.
Trends
- Application of non-systemic and street methods of advocacy;
- Increasing internal financing of Belarusian CSOs not only through monetization and donations, but also through starting social businesses;
- Polarization of public sentiment regarding gender and LGBT issues, which leads to the strengthening of the CSOs engaged in these areas and actualization of these topics on the political agenda.
