The views expressed in the publications do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bpb), the EENCE Citizenship Education Network or the organizations where the authors work.
Content:
- Background Information
- Definition of Citizenship Education
- Ecosystem of Non-formal Citizenship Education
- Legal Environment
- Stakeholders
- Challenges
- Footnotes
1. Background
The approaches to citizenship education in the Republic of Belarus began to develop during the late Soviet period. Official citizenship education in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) aimed to cultivate ideologically loyal citizens who supported communist doctrine. The focus was primarily on collectivism and socialist values, which restricted the emergence of critically thinking citizens.
In the 1980s, particularly during the Perestroika era, non-formal citizenship education initiatives began to emerge. These included associations dedicated to the national and cultural revival of Belarus, such as “Maystroynya,” “Talaka,” and “Pahodnya,” as well as democratic discussion clubs, notably “Sovremennik.” The first batch of groups continued the national democratic traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were aimed at constructing a national Belarusian identity and self-consciousness while taking into account the importance of democratic values, the rule of law and human rights. Representatives of the second group of initiatives, which emerged in the wake of Perestroika throughout the USSR, were committed to the formation of a “civic nation” based on universal values and promoted the thesis: “first democracy and human rights, and then national revival.”
Following the independence of Belarus in 1991, there was a need to reassess citizenship and political participation. The early 1990s saw a brief period of democratic transformation, allowing for diverse approaches to citizenship education. Citizens began to learn about living in a democracy, familiarising themselves with European values and human rights. Non-governmental organisations, including providers of non-formal education, and other organizations (media, political parties, religious organizations, etc.), together with the international community became the main providers of education for democratic citizenship.
Yet, the situation has shifted since 1994. At the state level there began a rollback to the Soviet traditions of citizenship education, which developed within the ideology behind the Belarusian state.
It is based on the postulate that Belarusians have gained a political self-realization only after the creation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and the key event in the nation’s history is the feat of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War (WWII) from 1941 to 1945. Citizenship education using this approach is implemented in formal education via specialized courses such as “Ideology of the Belarusian State” in universities and professional educational institutions, as well as via ideological, military-patriotic, and educational activities in schools. In fact, the state began actively working on the construction of a post-Soviet citizen of the Republic of Belarus.
As a consequence, since the late 1990s, the NGOs activities in the field of citizenship education have been declining. However, until 2020, the balance between state and non-state providers of citizenship education remained in place. Citizenship education, aimed at reviving national identity and promoting democratic values, continued to develop within civil society organisations. The contradictions laid down by the proponents of the “national revival” and “civic nation” concepts in the late 1980s remained and reflected in the non-formal education programmes in the 1990s and 2000s that offered different citizen and citizenship models, respectively, the “citizen of the Belarusian nation-state” versus the ideas of “European” and “global” citizenship. Over time, these approaches converged, and it became quite acceptable to understand that a person can be a citizen of Belarus as a nation-state and feel a part of the European and global world too. This approach reflected in the “Position of the Association of Additional Education and Enlightenment on Citizenship Education in the Republic of Belarus” adopted in 2016 [1]. The Association of Additional Education and Enlightenment was created in 2011 on the basis of the Association for Citizenship Education, which since 2000 has coordinated the operation of Belarusian non-governmental organisations specialising in citizenship education.
Since the 1990s, international organisations, including specialised UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, and WHO), the Council of Europe, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), provided a significant support for citizenship education in Belarus. These organizations have initiated projects and programmes geared towards various aspects of citizenship education with the participation of both government and NGOs. For example, from 1998 to 2005, the Republic of Belarus took part in the implementation of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2005). In 2010, the Council of Europe included representatives of the Republic of Belarus in the Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education programme, and from 2018 to 2020 the OSCE ODIHR supported the Ministry of Education in reforming curricula at all levels of education to include aspects of human rights in academic disciplines.
The situation in the Republic of Belarus has changed markedly in the wake of the political crisis concerning the protests against presidential election frauds in 2020. The government is becoming stronger and more radical in terms of demands for commitment and loyalty to the political regime, and civil society structures have been forced to suspend their activities or even go underground. The power of the state to exert pressure on society through various measures and institutions in this context (promotion of the ideological narrative) has increased manifold. In fact, the entire state apparatus is working on this. In addition, pro-Russian activists who advocate the incorporation of Belarus into the Russian Federation and the promotion of the values of the “Russian world” have become more active. Nonetheless, from 2020 to 2022, there was an interest in democracy and human rights among the population, expressed via so-called “backyard initiatives” (e.g. supporting activists, protest groups, and those subjected to repression by the regime) and underscoring the importance of further developing citizenship education as a tool to build active and responsible citizenship. At the same time, the state authorities began a campaign aimed at demolishing civil society in Belarus. Non-governmental organisations involved in citizenship education have been accused of training protesters. NGO offices are being searched and the most prominent activists, including civilian educators, have been arrested. As a result, most NGOs have been forced to cease their activities or move to other countries and work in exile.
The situation further deteriorated after Russia’s naked aggression against Ukraine in 2022. Most international organisations (with the exception of some UN agencies) were forced to leave Belarus. In 2022-2023, the authorities suspended the Republic of Belarus’ membership in a number of international treaties, including the European Cultural Convention, which provided a legal basis for the participation of Belarusians in educational events by the Council of Europe.
2. Definition of Citizenship Education
Currently, there is no unified definition or consensus on the objectives of citizenship education in Belarus. The primary document governing the education system, the Code of the Republic of Belarus “On Education” [2] does not mention “citizenship education” or “citizenship.” At the same time, the Code operates with such concepts as “citizenship” and “citizenship education” and declares the priority of universal values and human rights, but does not describe the mechanisms for their realization in practice. This creates a situation where these concepts exist only at the declarative level.
The “Concept of Continuous Education of Children and Pupils in the Republic of Belarus” (2015) [3] provides a more comprehensive view of citizenship education, emphasizing ideological education aligned with the Belarusian state’s ideology. This document states, in particular, that the main component of education of children and students is, among other things, “citizenship and patriotic education aimed at forming an active civic position, patriotism, legal, political and information culture”. Citizenship in this document is understood as “an integrative quality of personality oriented to decent, responsible and socially significant fulfillment of social roles” [3].
As for non-formal education, civil society organisations adhere to the definition of citizenship education given in the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education, which defines citizenship education as “education, training, awareness-raising, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and developing their attitudes and behaviour, to empower them to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities in society, to value diversity and to play an active part in democratic life, with a view to the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law” [4]. According to the spirit of this document, the goal of education for democratic citizenship is to produce active, critically-thinking citizens.
3. Ecosystem for Non-formal Citizenship Education
Non-formal education has historically been the cornerstone of democratic citizenship education in Belarus. However, due to the ongoing campaign against civil society since 2020, the majority of citizenship education providers, as well as independent media, political parties and other (non-educational) NGOs, have relocated abroad and now operate in exile. Topics covered by these organizations include human rights, tolerance, gender issues, civic participation, and legal education, targeting both Belarusians still in the country and those who have fled repression.
Despite the majority of providers being in exile, some independent initiatives continue to operate “underground” or through alternative formats (for example, in the legal form of commercial organizations, or in the format of groups in social media) on neutral topics, such as sustainable development and environmental education. However, conducting offline citizenship education events in Belarus is perilous, as they may be perceived by authorities as preparations for protests, leading to criminal penalties.
Alternative methods for organizing citizenship education include online events and facilitating participation in educational activities abroad, both of which necessitate stringent security measures due to societal fear and mistrust.
Currently, specialised UN agencies remain and are trying to work in Belarus. These organisations initiate and support projects and programmes aimed at social and economic development, environmental initiatives, health care, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting youth, etc., including through non-formal education.
In terms of co-operation between citizenship education providers, at the moment, it is a matter of sharing information, participating in each other’s activities and joint events. The previous models of co-operation within the Association for Additional Education and Enlightenment are no longer working due to the dissolution of the Association and the majority of its members in 2021.
4. Legal Environment
The sphere of education in the Republic of Belarus has always been strictly regulated by the state. The main focus was on the regulation of formal education, while non-formal (“additional” – in the terminology of Belarusian legislation) education was initially outside the state regulation. However, after the entry into force of the Code of the Republic of Belarus “On Education” in 2011 [2], the situation began to change in the direction of strengthening the regulation of the sphere of additional education. After 2020, the legislation on education underwent changes aimed at further strengthening of state regulation and control over all aspects of educational activity.
At the same time, any activity in the field of education (including non-formal education) is regulated not only by the Code, but also by many by-laws, which most often establish additional requirements and restrictions.
For example, as of today, the majority of independent providers of the most common types of non-formal educational programs (trainings, seminars, workshops, personal development programs, etc.) are obliged to develop training and program documentation, issue state-validated certificates to participants, keep their records and store personal data of participants. According to legal requirements, such providers are obliged to inform local authorities about all educational programs they implement. In turn, providers working with youth are required to coordinate the content of their programs with the authorities. Certain types of educational activities require a license (permit).
In addition, since 2020, the number of “hidden” regulations has increased, when formally non-mandatory recommendations, instructions, and letters of state bodies are de facto mandatory for participants of educational activities. Failure to follow them entails bringing education providers to responsibility.
The situation is aggravated by the repressive practice of bringing to administrative and criminal responsibility the organizers, participants and experts of citizenship education programs. For example, according to Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus [5] “Assistance to extremist activity” the organizers of almost any educational program, which the authorities consider dangerous for themselves, are being prosecuted.
In the situation of ongoing repressions, in the short term we should expect further strengthening of regulation of non-formal (additional) education in Belarus, through the establishment of additional rules and restrictions through by-laws and “hidden” regulation, in the medium term – through legislative regulation of providers’ activities.
The over-regulation of non-formal education takes place at the background of a general increase in repression againstcivil society and activists.
In Belarus, since the late 1990s, there has been a systematic narrowing of the space for the activities of non-profit organizations, which were the main providers of non-formal citizenship education. As a result of the mandatory re-registrations of 1999 and 2015, as well as the campaign of mass liquidation of non-profit organizations, launched in 2021, almost all providers of non-formal citizenship education in Belarus were liquidated or were forced to relocate to other countries.
Participants of human rights education programs risk being accused of “illegal activity” or “undermining state security”. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus provides a wide range of possibilities for criminal liability for various activities, including those related to the organization of educational programs. As a consequence, many citizenship education experts were either forced to leave the country or became subjects to criminal prosecution.
5. Stakeholders (Formal & Non-formal Citizenship Education)
The key role in the implementation of state-sanctioned ideological and military-patriotic education is played by the state educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities), as well as pro-state public associations (such as BRSM and Belaya Rus).
Civil society organizations and initiatives are providers of non-formal citizenship education. They implement programs aimed at awareness raising on human rights, democratic values and other aspects of citizenship education. These organizations work independently from the state structures and can offer alternative educational formats. However, after 2020, their activities in Belarus were seriously restricted, so they most often work “underground” or remotely.
International organizations have great potential to support and develop citizenship education in the Republic of Belarus, but after 2020 their activities inside the country have been reduced to a minimum.
6. Challenges
Citizenship education in Belarus faces a number of serious challenges that affect its development and implementation. These challenges can be divided into several key categories.
1. The existence of two opposing approaches to citizenship education
One of the main challenges is that state and non-state education have opposite goals for citizenship education: the state is interested in up-bringing of obedient subordinates who share the state ideology and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the state, while civil society organizations aim to educate active critically thinking citizens.
2. Substitution of citizenship education in the state educational institutions by ideological and military-patriotic education
In state educational institutions, the term “citizenship education” has been replaced by “military-patriotic education” and “ideological education”, which leads to the formation of paternalistic and ideological approaches to education. State educational institutions are subjected to ideological control by the authorities. This limits opportunities for the development of critical thinking and discussion of contemporary issues within the domain of citizenship and human rights. As a result, citizens do not receive the necessary competencies for active participation in public life.
3. Repression and risk of criminal proceedings against providers and participants of citizenship education programs.
The situation with violation of human rights and political repressions in the country pose additional challenges to the development of citizenship education. Since 2020, there has been an increase in a number of criminal cases against civic activists and criminalisation of citizenship education initiatives. NGOs that could contribute to the development of citizenship competences have faced a ban on their activities.
References
- Position of the Association of Additional Education and Enlightenment on Citizenship Education in the Republic of Belarus. [Link](https://www.lawtrend.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/position_ce_ru.pdf) (Accessed: 4 October 2024).
- Code of the Republic of Belarus on Education. [Link](https://pravo.by/document/?guid=12551&p0=H12200154&p1=1&p5=0) (Accessed: 4 October 2024).
- Concept of Continuous Education of Children and Pupils in the Republic of Belarus. [Link](https://pravo.by/document/?guid=2012&oldDoc=2007-29/2007-29(065-106).pdf&oldDocPage=4) (Accessed: 4 October 2024).
- Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education. [Link](https://www.coe.int/ru/web/compass/council-of-europe-charter-on-education-for-democratic-citizenship-and-human-rights-education) (Accessed: 4 October 2024).
- Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. [Link](https://pravo.by/document/?guid=3871&p0=hk9900275) (Accessed: 4 October 2024).
