{"id":546040,"date":"2026-05-27T15:11:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=546040"},"modified":"2026-05-27T20:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:34:07","slug":"second-kosciuszko-forum-to-be-held-in-gdansk-dedicated-this-year-to-belarusian-culture-as-a-force-for-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/second-kosciuszko-forum-to-be-held-in-gdansk-dedicated-this-year-to-belarusian-culture-as-a-force-for-democracy","title":{"rendered":"Second Ko\u015bciuszko Forum to Be Held in Gda\u0144sk, Dedicated This Year to Belarusian Culture as a Force for Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Next week, on June 2, the second Ko\u015bciuszko Forum will take place in the Polish city of Gda\u0144sk \u2014 a symbolic city of freedom and solidarity. This year\u2019s event, organised by Poland\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Solidarity Centre, will be entirely dedicated to Belarusian culture under the slogan \u201cCulture as a Force for Democracy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The organisers of the forum, held under the patronage of the shared hero of Poles, Belarusians, Lithuanians and Ukrainians Tadeusz Ko\u015bciuszko<\/b><\/strong>, say they believe culture today is capable of becoming a platform for solidarity and helping democratic Belarus remain a full-fledged participant in the broader European space.<\/p>\n

The event will be held at the European Solidarity Centre (ECS). For those unable to attend in person in Gda\u0144sk, an online broadcast of the morning session \u2014 including the opening ceremony and award presentations \u2014 will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

Mutual Awards: Lech Wa\u0142\u0119sa and Ales Bialiatski<\/h2>\n

The morning part of the forum will feature several major symbolic ceremonies.<\/p>\n

The United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus will present the Cross of Good Neighbourhood to legendary Solidarity movement leader Lech Wa\u0142\u0119sa<\/b><\/strong> in recognition of his special contribution to relations between countries and support for democratic change.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, a ceremony will be held to honour Belarusian human rights defender, Viasna founder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski<\/b><\/strong>. He will receive the ECS Solidarity and Human Rights Award, which is presented to individuals exceptionally devoted to the protection of human rights not only in civic life but also in culture, science and education, and for achieving historic breakthroughs.<\/p>\n

Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski is also scheduled to appear as a special guest in the opening debate, \u201cWhy Is Culture the Answer to Political Stagnation?\u201d, which will begin immediately after the ceremonial part.<\/p>\n

Main Topics of Discussions and Round Table<\/h2>\n

The forum programme is divided into several pressing and topical themes.<\/p>\n

11:30 a.m. \u2014 \u201cCulture Does Not Remain Silent. Successes of Belarusian Culture in Europe.\u201d A discussion with Belarusian actors and cultural figures who have successfully implemented projects in exile and become voices for their country.<\/p>\n

2:00 p.m. \u2014 Presentation of major research studies. The United Transitional Cabinet and the Belarusian Council for Culture, together with the Mieroszewski Centre and the Centre for Eastern Studies, will present findings from new reports on the current state of Belarusian culture and language.<\/p>\n

4:00 p.m. \u2014 \u201cBelarusian Culture 404.\u201d A discussion on the \u201cinvisible country\u201d \u2014 why Belarus is increasingly being erased from the political agenda and historiography of some countries, and how to fight this \u201c404 error\u201d.<\/p>\n

The forum will conclude at 6:00 p.m. with one of the most powerful international projects, Clap&Slap, a performance featuring Belarusian performer Ihar Shuhaleeu<\/b><\/strong> and Lithuanian actress Agn\u0117t\u0117 Lisi\u010dkinait\u0117<\/b><\/strong>, addressing the issue of personal and collective guilt among Belarusians in the context of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Through body language and dance, the artists will attempt to find mutual understanding where politics and emotions reach a dead end. At 7:00 p.m., following the performance, there will be a meeting with the artists behind the dance production, which was included in the TOP 20 performances of the major European dance network Aerowaves.<\/p>\n

Admission to the Clap&Slap performance is free, but electronic tickets<\/a> must be reserved.<\/p>\n

“We organise the Ko\u015bciuszko Forum because we are convinced that culture is a platform on which solidarity between nations emerges and the voices of those fighting for civil rights can be heard. Moreover, it is a practical tool for strengthening trust and building long-term relations between Belarusian political and social actors and their partners in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and other European countries,”<\/i><\/em> the organisers said.<\/p>\n

The Ko\u015bciuszko Forum is dedicated to democratic transformation in Belarus and the region. Last year, politicians, experts and activists from more than a dozen European countries took part in the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Next week, on June 2, the second Ko\u015bciuszko Forum will take place in the Polish city of Gda\u0144sk \u2014 a symbolic city of freedom and solidarity. This year\u2019s event, organised by Poland\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Solidarity Centre, will be entirely dedicated to Belarusian culture under the slogan \u201cCulture as a Force […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":546039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6a172b131b5e8.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Second Ko\u015bciuszko Forum to Be Held in Gda\u0144sk, Dedicated This Year to Belarusian Culture as a Force for Democracy"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142375,142338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-546040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}