“There were many debates on possibilities of change in Belarus during the first BISS conference last year”, says BISS Director Vitali Silitski, - “Today it is obvious that the transformation of Belarusian power and the economy is under way. Much of it had been prompted by the external factors, such as energy tensions with Russia, Russia-Georgia war, and the world financial crisis. However, even more important are the internal sources for the change, such as ongoing modernization of the Belarusian society and the new context of its relations with the authorities. This transformation, however, takes place in the framework of authoritarian system and many of the initiated reforms are being undertaken in order to suppress the demand for political transformation. We need a better understanding of the nature and direction of transformation processes in order to see the prospects for Belarus’ evolutionary development and its movement towards a wealthy and competitive European nation”.

The key issue of the conference will be the assessment of the impact of the dialogue between the Belarusian authorities and the European Union and the United States. "Relative failure of Western diplomacy during Belarus' parliamentary elections should not lead to weakening of the efforts to promote transformation in Belarus. What is needed instead is a more proactive approach, which would be focused on encouraging transition in all sectors of Belarusian society, which would not be narrowed to a political agenda alone", argues philosopher Ales' Antsipenka, the BISS Board Chairman.

Discussions will be organized in six panels: Parliamentary elections of 2008 – results and implications; Belarus' relations with the European Union and the United States after the 2008 elections: lessons learned from the dialogue and confrontation; Russia-Belarus relations: agenda and trends under Medvedev and after Georgia; Belarusian Power – trends and generation changes; Belarusian economy: long-term threats and opportunities and Belarusian society: social contracts and space for change (presentation of social contracts study).

The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies was founded in 2007 as a platform for cooperation of Belarusian researchers, experts and analysts to work out an alternative vision of Belarus.

For more detailed information, please, contact BISS Director Vitali Silitski: +380660879391, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit our web-site  www.belinstitute.eu. Гэты e-mail абаронены ад спам-ботаў. Для яго прагляду ў вашым браўзэры павінна быць уключаная падтрымка Java-script