General Information
Technical Information
A multilateral consultation process involving representatives of the public sector and civil society was undertaken to prepare the periodic report. The consultation process included meetings and discussions with all the parties concerned, researching, statistical data analyzing, selective interviewing, and questioning of target groups and peer-reviewing.
The consultations were held at the level of various departments of the Ministry of Culture and other Ministries: the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, with the representatives of museums, libraries, theatre community.
Additional consultations through face-to-face meetings and online negotiations were held with the civil society agencies working in the field of culture and art.
Since 2006, when the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions was ratified, the Republic of Belarus has been deliberately working to implement its main provisions in the cultural policy and legislative system of the country.
The present Constitution of the Republic of Belarus recognizes and guarantees the fundamental rights in the field of culture, including the right to preserve one’s national identity, the right to use one’s native language and the freedom to choose the language of communication, upbringing, and education (Article 50). The Constitution also recognizes the responsibility of the state to preserve the cultural heritage and free development of cultures of all the ethnic communities residing in Belarus (Article 15), guarantees the right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Article 51), and ensures the protection of the economic and moral copyrights of authors of artistic works (Article 51).
In 2017, the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Culture, which is the main regulating act in the field of culture, came into force. The Code accumulated the pre-existing laws in the field of culture and cultural heritage protection. Moreover, it determined the basic principles of civil relations in this field (Article 2), including the free development of cultures of national minorities with priority given to the development of the Belarusian culture and language; the accessibility of cultural goods for all the citizens, including ones residing in the rural areas, people with disabilities and other representatives of disadvantaged social groups. The Code guaranteed the freedom of creative activity, the protection of intellectual rights, the equal rights and opportunities of the citizens in creation and usage of cultural values, as well as the approval and dissemination of humanistic ideas, scientific knowledge, and global culture achievements, the formation of aesthetic living space.
There are no special plans or programs for the implementation of the 2005 Convention, but the Republic of Belarus implements the basic principles of the Convention through various national and regional strategies, programs, and activities.
The ratifications of the 2005 Convention provided a platform for structured discussions about the cultural policy and its application. The permanent discussions are underway between the state and civil society on various dialogue platforms, including the important ones such as the Minsk Dialogue international forum, which has been annually held in Minsk since 2003 with the direct involvement of the Belarusian authorities and the representatives of the European Union countries; numerous conferences, meetings, and seminars organized by the state cultural institutions and non-governmental organizations.
However, the process of the implementation of the 2005 Convention has not been completed yet. The further integration of its provisions into the national law and real policies is required. The monitoring process is also complicated by the lack of an appropriate statistical matrix. Therefore, capacity-building and awareness-raising are needed to make the implementation of the Convention through national policies more flexible and visible.
Organization type | Organization | Website | |
---|---|---|---|
Public Sector
| Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus
| ministerstvo@kultura.by
| https://www.kultura.by
|
Public Sector
| Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
| root@minedu.unibel.by
| https://edu.gov.by
|
Public Sector
| Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus
| info@mininform.gov.by
| http://mininform.gov.by
|
Public Sector
| Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus
| minec@economy.gov.by
| http://economy.gov.by
|
Public Sector
| Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus
| info@mst.gov.by; tourism@mst.gov.by
| http://www.mst.by
|
Public Sector
| Center of National Cultures
| zentr-nazkult@kultura.by
| http://nationalcultures.by
|
Public Sector
| National Library of Belarus
| inbox@nlb.by
| https://www.nlb.by
|
Public Sector
| National History Museum of the Republic of Belarus
| histmuseum@histmuseum.by
| http://histmuseum.by
|
Public Sector
| National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus
| nmmb@artmuseum.by
| https://www.artmuseum.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Committee of ICOMOS
| icomosby@gmail.com
| https://icomos.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Committee of ICOM
| secretary@icom-belarus.org
| http://www.icom-belarus.org
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Union of Designers
| unidby@gmail.com
| http://unid.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Republican Public Association “Belarusian Union of Cinematographers”
| viktorakter@mail.ru
| http://roobsk.com
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Center for Visual and Performing Arts "Art Corporation»
| Email: artcorporationinfo@gmail.com
| http://www.artcorporation.by
|
Public Sector
| Belarusian TV and Radio Company
| webmaster@tvr.by
| https://www.tvr.by
|
Public Sector
| Republican Centre of National Cultures
| zentr-nzkult@kultura.by
| http://nationalcultures.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Foundation of Culture
| bfk@tut.by
| http://bfk.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Language Society named after F. Skaryna
| siadziba@gmail.com
| https://tbm-mova.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Public Association "Rest in the Village»
| info@ruralbelarus.by
| http://www.ruralbelarus.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Contemporary Art Gallery «U»
| nfo@ygallery.by
| http://ygallery.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Foundation «Cultural Heritage and Modernity»
| chm.fund@gmail.com
| http://heritagefund.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Union of Writers
| oo-spb@tut.by Web-site: www. oo-spb.by
| http://www.oo-spb.by
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| The Union of Belarusian Writers
| spb@lit-bel.org
| http://www.lit-bel.org
|
Civil Society Organization (CSO)
| Belarusian Union of Artists
| belartunion@solo.by
| http://www.belartunion.by
|