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Belarus Context Note BELARUS CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS CONTEXT CONTEXT NOTE WRITTEN BY: Damien Helly EDITED BY: Yudhishthir Raj Isar GRAPHICS & LAY OUT BY: Guillemette Madinier DATE OF PUBLICATION: 10 September 2014 The current political situation and the time constraints in place for the Preparatory Action's enquiry have not allowed for a proper consultation process to be undertaken in Belarus. This note is the result of desk research and online consultation with a limited number of stakeholders. It therefore provides only a single snapshot at the given moment. It is not a full-fledged analysis of the cultural relations between Europe and Belarus. The content of this report does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the author(s). © 2013-2014 Preparatory Action ‘Culture in the EU's External Relations’ CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS | 1 preparatory action CULTURE in EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... 2 OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 3 THE CULTURAL POLICY LANDSCAPE AND RELATIONS WITH THE EU ................................................... 4 PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS .................................................................................................. 7 ANNEX ............................................................................................................................................ 9 EU-Belarus cultural cooperation activities run by the Commission Headquarters ....................... 9 CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS | 2 preparatory action CULTURE in EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS OVERVIEW Under the authoritarian regime in place since the 1990s, citizens of Belarus have had limited opportunities to engage culturally with Europe, the continent to which their country historically, geographically and culturally belongs. Human rights violations, despite the short-lived 2008-2010 liberalisation, have cast a shadow on relations with the EU (which applies sanctions on the President and other political figures) and other international organisations like the OSCE. Cultural relations, in such a context, have become highly politicised, while the country’s economic, financial and security reliance on Russia has brought Belarus even closer to its Eastern neighbour. In the cultural field, the first phase of independence coincided with some revival of the national culture. The authorities have since supported or encouraged cultural practices aligned with Russian ones. The cultural landscape of Belarus is fragmented and difficult to identify due to limited transparency, limited freedom of expression, and political repression. The Ukrainian crisis has contributed to maintaining tensions in the region, making prospects of enhanced cultural relations even more unpredictable. CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS | 3 preparatory action CULTURE in EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS THE CULTURAL POLICY LANDSCAPE AND RELATIONS WITH THE EU Although Belarus does not have an official strategy for external cultural relations, this policy area is addressed in a number of documents such as, to name but a few, the government programmes on culture and on the development of tourism for 2011-2015, laws on culture (1991), heritage (2006), museums (2005), cinemas (2004) or workers and unions in the creative sector (1999). The promotion of both cultural heritage and local cultural development has become an official priority.1 Since 1992, the country has signed 33 international agreements on culture with EU Member States, Russia, China, India, Iran, South Africa and Turkey.2 Belarus has approved the UNESCO Conventions on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions (2005) and on intangible cultural heritage (2003).3 As far as state policies are concerned, priority is given to immediate neighbours (Russia and close EU Member States like Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine), former Soviet Republics (Azerbaijan), but also to some extent Germany, Italy and France.4 Cultural production in Russian mostly targets Russia, Poland and Lithuania. State policies focus on three clusters of objectives: cultural diplomacy for the promotion of Belarus' culture internationally; the enhancement of Belarusian national identity inside the country and within its neighbourhood (Russia, Ukraine and Poland); and the enrichment of citizens’ cultural life.5 These objectives contrast with the fact that most of the staff in ministries dealing with culture has very little experience of working and studying abroad.6 Local authorities have some competences in dealing with culture in external relations, provided they ensure the unity of state policies. One example of external cultural relations managed at local level is the organisation in 2013 of the cultural days of the Kaliningrad oblast (an administrative territorial entity of Russia) in the region of Brest.7 External cultural relations are usually led by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the field of research, including on culture in external relations, the government 1 'Le trésor culturel du Bélarus’, Ambassade de la République du Belarus en France. Online. Available at: http://france.mfa.gov.by/fr/belarus/culture/. 2 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus website: http://www.mfa.gov.by/. 3 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, Paris, 20 October 2005, UNESCO. Online. Available at: http://www.unesco.org/eri/la/convention.asp?order=alpha&language=E&KO=31038; and Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Paris, 17 October 2003, UNESCO. Online. Available at: http://www.unesco.org/eri/la/convention.asp?order=alpha&language=E&KO=17116. The term ‘approval’ means that the state accepts to be bound by the convention. The instrument of approval or acceptance has the same effects as the ratification. See: https://treaties.un.org/pages/Overview.aspx?path=overview/glossary/page1_en.xml&clang=_en. 4 Information gathered from the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Accessed on 27 May 2013. 5 Responses to the Preparatory Action questionnaire by the Ministry of Culture, December 2013. 6 Data collected by a cultural expert in Belarus interviewed by Skype, July 2014. 7 Example given by the Ministry of Culture in the questionnaire: ‘Brest Regional Executive Committee’. Online. Available at: http://brest-region.gov.by/index.php/en/. CONTEXT NOTE BELARUS | 4 preparatory action CULTURE in EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS works with a state-funded research institute, the Belarus Culture Institute.8 The President of the Republic may also be personally involved in some external cultural relations initiatives. For instance, the President of Belarus awarded a national prize for cinema to the film director Emir Kusturica in 2010. A number of internationalised cultural events take place in Belarus in the field of the performing arts. The first Independent International Festival of Experimental Theatres was launched in 2011 and organised by the ROND Theatre, the Belarusian State Academy of Arts, the Centre of Belarusian Drama and Direction, and the concert agency Bopromo in cooperation with the Bonn municipality. Cinema festivals such as Niepakalianava and Listapad also cooperate with European partners.9 The Magnificat International Catholic Festival of Christian Films and TV Documentaries has been held in Belarus since the early 2000s by the Catholic Church of Belarus.10 Experts underline that there are three types of cultural organisations in Belarus: cooperating, compromising and non-cooperating with state authorities.11 The cultural sector debates the country’s cultural orientation and the European-ness of society. However, ‘people who speak Belarusian are invariably treated as an opposition’.12 The ‘Let us be Belarusians/Budzma’ campaign focuses on the recognition of the national/cultural identity of Belarusian. It works with Belarusian Diaspora abroad and with Belarusians in the country.13 Batskauschyna (the World Association of Belarusians) also promotes culture as a way to improve day-to-day life while referring to the roots of Belarusian identity. Belarus is part of the Culture programme of the Eastern Partnership of the EU. It also has cooperation agreements with a number of EU Member States, namely: Latvia, Germany, Italy, France and Bulgaria.14 The EU has increased its assistance to Belarusian civil society in the last few years through a variety of programmes (EIDHR, Media). However, the country is not part of several international culture and education frameworks, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the EU Bologna Process or the European Parliament and Council of Europe’s criteria of evaluation of the quality of education.15 The pariah status of Belarus makes it difficult for the EU and European organisations to engage with counterparts there. Amongst EU Member States, Poland, Lithuania and Germany are probably the most active in fostering cultural relations with Belarus via people-to-people contacts 8 The Institute of Culture of Belarus website: http://inbelkult.by/en/. 9 Lavon Barshcheuski, L., et al., A Report on the Condition of NGOs and Independent Culture in Belarus, Kultura Enter, 2011. 10 Magnificat. International Catholic Festival of Christian Documentary
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