From 26 to 27 February, a conference to support civil society in Belarus is taking place at the Federal Foreign Office. Minister of State Cornelia Pieper is opening the event.

The meeting is part of the European Dialogue on Modernization launched in Brussels in March 2012 and will seek to generate new ideas for the political, social and economic modernization of Belarus in cooperation with representatives from Belarusian civil society. The idea is to incorporate these proposals into the Belarusian reform debate as soon as the political situation on the ground makes this possible.

The conference in Berlin is the third event to take place under the auspices of the European Dialogue on Modernization; the previous discussions were held in Warsaw and Tallinn. It will focus on identifying possibilities for reform in the spheres of local government and social policy.

About 150 civil society, academic and political experts are expected to participate.