National Platform continues its European way

Civil society of Belarus, despite the actions and inertness of Belarusan regime should continue working within the European integration.

This was declared during the conference of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum by the head of the coordinating committee Uladzimir Matskevich.

As the EuroBelarus Information Service reported earlier, one of the main results of the National Platform of the EaP CSF conference that took place in Minsk, November, 16 was the adoption of the National Platform Development Concept. “From the April, 2012 National Platform actively participates in the processes and events within the European dialog on modernization together with the European Commission, Belarusan political structures and expert community”, and “in the perspective we need to move from the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum towards the National Platform of the civil community, preserving and developing all the positive groundwork, broadening the scale and spheres of activity and growing our influence”, says the adopted concept.

Among the priorities in the strategic development of the National Platform, the concept reads expansion of operations of the National Platform activity for settlement of world-wide problems not only within the scale of the Eastern Partnership program, but within the European dialog with the people of Belarus on modernization and other borderline formats and topics of Belarusan and European cooperation where the presentation of the consolidated position is required, too.

The conference resulted in adoption of the resolution by its participants, where they emphasized one more time that “We look upon the EU initiative “European dialog on modernization with the Belarusan society” as the important and potential tool of democratic changes in Belarus. This initiative is all the more important and relevant because it is also an activator of the whole line of processes within the European partnership. We would also welcome the wider role and level of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum involvement in European dialog on modernization of Belarus”.

Besides, during the conference special attention was attached to the goals and objectives of the Belarusan delegation at the fourth meeting of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum that will be held at the end of November in Stockholm.

“A great number of developments proved to be very effective for our companions in the Eastern Partnership, for the countries, that are actively involved in the European integration processes, - noted Uladzimir Matskevich. – In these countries the programs are carried out and civil society actively participates in the realization of the programs at national level. We have not got this opportunity, so, practically we have been working for the benefit of our companions from the Eastern partnership countries. But it doesn’t mean that we wasted our time. We have learned a lot and we are ready to move all the weight of intellectual and analytical work from the roadmaps to the development and launching of the national programs”.

As it was noted by the head of the International Consortium “EuroBelarus” Ulad Vialichka, “one of the goals reached on the conference was a certain focus of the future representatives of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Stockholm. And adoption of the development concept will allow us to move numerous intentions to the sphere of activity, including those concerning the realization of the national programs within EP CSF”.

The fourth Forum of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society will be held in Stockholm on the 29^th -30^th of November. Belarus will be represented by 23 non-governmental organizations that are the participants of the Belarusan National Platform. Among them are the Human Rights Centre "Viasna", Belarusian Association of Journalists, Movement for Freedom, Belarusan Helsinki Committee, Public Association “Eco House”, Free Trade Union of Belarus, Office on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Green Network” association, International Consortium “EuroBelarus” and other organizations.

The conference of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Belarus, Minsk, November 16, 2012, photo report: