Renowned scholars, researchers, respected international experts, development professionals and civic activists from Belarus and abroad will gather in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius on May 25 and 26 to debate the „Future of Belarus” at an international conference dedicated to the 20 years of independent research in Belarus and the establishment of the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS).

The conference kicks off at 12.00 on May 25, Friday at Radisson Astorija in Vilnius, Lithuania and will conclude on May 26 (Saturday) at 4pm.  Panels and topics including „Political Development: What Public Opinion Says?”; „Civil Society: Its Role in Democratization”; „Economy: Crisis and Ways Out” on May 25 (Friday), „Belarusian Identity: National, European or Post-Soviet?”; „Putting Belarus into the European Context”; „State and Future of Independent Research: Development Track after 20 years” on May 26 (Saturday).

The „Future of Belarus” international conference is organized with kind support of USAID through Pact, the Eastern Europe Studies Center (EESC, Lithuania) as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. Organizers will provide live streaming from the conference over the internet http://www.belinstitute.eu and http://belarusdigest.com.

The programme of the conference can be downloaded HERE.