Call for Applications to Participate in the Congress

Dear colleagues,

A consortium of Belarusian and Lithuanian organisations, under the auspices of Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania) and the Political Sphere Institute (Belarus), announces a call for applications to participate in the First International Congress of Belarusian Studies, which will take place on 23-25 September 2011 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

More than one hundred scholars and researchers from different countries of the world who study Belarus and the Central and Eastern European region are expected to take part in the event. The Congress envisages the participation of specialists in sociology, political science, history, and the history of ideas. In addition, the Congress will include discussions of regional development, Belarus’s relations with other countries, and other topical issues.

Proposed section titles:

1. Belarus and the system of regional cooperation;

2. The “Belarusian model”, 1991-2011: summarising two decades;

3. The Soviet past in regional perspective: (de-)(neo-)(post-)Sovietisation;

4. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania: fact and idea;

5. The nation in Central and Eastern Europe: community and identity;

6. Belarusian society and culture: strategies under conditions of globalisation.

Preliminary topics for public discussions:

1. Belarus and the Eastern Partnership;

2. Elections in Belarus, 2008-2010: consequences and prospects;

3. Belarusian-Lithuanian relations: current state, prospects, obstacles.

More detailed information about the concept of the event, the organisers, and partners can be found on the Congress website: www.icbs.lt.

On behalf of the Consortium, we invite all interested researchers, experts, and specialists in the fields indicated above to take part in the work of the Congress.

The organisers will cover accommodation costs and provide visa support. It is planned that transport costs will be reimbursed for participants from Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

The main working languages of the Congress are Belarusian, English, and Lithuanian, with simultaneous interpretation of plenary and joint sessions into these languages. Russian and Polish will serve as additional languages of communication. Speakers may submit abstracts and give presentations in Belarusian, English, Lithuanian, Polish, and Russian.

Congress speakers will have the opportunity to publish their materials as abstracts, presentations, or individual articles.

To participate in the Congress, please send:

1) a CV in Belarusian, English, Lithuanian, or another working language;

2) an abstract of up to 400 words, in any working language.

Please also indicate in your email whether visa support is required.

Please send your applications to: [email protected].

Application deadline: 15 July 2011.