Belarus

For her, the new Belarus began with the Women’s Revolution in 2020, and continues to this very day. Julia Mickiewicz remembers the inspiration that the beautiful and smart women at the rallies have given her, along with the conviction that victory is achievable.

The three laureates are shaping the socio-political debates in Belarus and are enabling a counter-narrative to the Russian discourse and the deeply patriarchal view of society held by ruler Lukashenko, says Dr. Imme Scholz

Acceptance speech. Belarus is a country where women took to the streets with flowers and were thrown into prison vans. By Darya Afanasyeva

Julia Mickiewicz switched from journalism to politics and then to NGOs. She is the co-founder of the feminist organisation FemGroup Belarus. Today, she lives in exile – still she continues in her unwavering struggle for gender equality, diversity, and social justice.

Gender equity is Irina Alkhovka’s personal and professional passion. In 2021, the human rights campaigner had to leave her home country, Belarus, where she was being prosecuted for her political activism.

The EU lacks leverage in Belarus. Doubling down on policies that failed in the past makes no sense and can only have unintended consequences. To gain relevance in Belarus and become “geopolitical” the EU should recognise painful truths about itself and the world.

The EU strives for strategic sovereignty and the capability to master global politics. The crisis in Belarus presents an opportunity for Brussels to contribute to stability in its eastern neighborhood. In order to support a democratic transfer of power in Minsk, however, the EU must enhance its engagement across five areas.