PEN Belarus defends the freedom of expression and cultural development
PEN Belarus operates in two key areas: creativeness and human rights.
The former is represented mainly by literary prizes (Aleś Adamovič Award, Francišak Bahuševič Award, Jerzy Giedroyć Literary Award, Natallia Arsieńnieva Award, Carlos Sherman Award, Maksim Bahdanovič Debut Award, Michal Aniempadystaŭ Award, and other), Audiotheque, festivals, creative residencies and educational projects (e.g. translation workshops), providing creators with opportunities to fulfill their potential and create spaces for cultural development.
As part of its human rights activities, PEN Belarus monitors the situation in the cultural sphere, issues biweekly chronicles reflecting rights violations in this matter, and produces analytical reports.
PEN Belarus also provides support to the repressed cultural activists in Belarus and raises funds to support Ukrainian cultural activists during the war.
PEN Belarus was banned in Belarus by a Supreme Court decision on August 9, 2021, the anniversary of the presidential election. From 2020 to 2022 we had to cope with the Ministry of Justice’s inspections and searches, liquidation, and the relocation of our headquarters to Warsaw. However, we did not interrupt our activities for a single day.
Nobel laureate in Literature Svetlana Alexievich and one of the Nobel Peace Prize nominees Aleś Bialacki, (currently a political prisoner) are members of PEN Belarus.
As of today, the Belarusian PEN operates in Poland where it has been registered as an association (stowarzyszenie).
Telegram – PENBelarus
Facebook – penbelarus.org
Instagram – pen_belarus
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