A distributed network structure based on the principle of use of information technologies, which counts on young talented Belarusians complying with criteria for representatives of the elite, and possesses responsible political ideas and professional approach to work.
Value orientation of the Community members:liberal values
Vision of the Community’s role:
Society’s and state’s development according to liberal principles and values of the Third Way
Mission of the Community:
To promote modernization of Belarus into a successful and competitive country with the priority of liberal values
Our Community:
The Third Way is mean of taking part in social and political life of our country, as well as an open democratic discussion ground where issues important for today’s and tomorrow’s Belarus, are being discussed.
We believe that it’s not possible to succeed in transforming society only by copying past experience (the first way) or by copying other country’s stories of development (the second way).
We discuss, analyze, and evaluate various models of government mechanism, study different aspects of the society’s development in order to find the one way – the third way of development of Belarusian nation, which will lead to its prosperity.
We act in the interest of quick changes for the better in our country and its modernization into an open and free state.
Strategic goals of the Community:
To form a new generation of professional national elite diverse in views yet united in vision of our country’s future, consisting of young Belarusians living both in Belarus and abroad.
To create a consistent and influential civil platform for containment of negative tendencies in Belarusian political system, its step-by-step modernization into a professional and values-oriented open system (with constant rotation of members on the basis of competition of their personal potentials).
Values and principles
Values of the Community members:
Personal freedom as person’s right to make decisions independently
Responsibility as a precondition of personal freedom
Private property as a basis of personal independence
Conscious participation in social lie as condition for society’s wellbeing as a whole
Solidarity as a joint determination and protection of common values
Diversity as condition for society’s prosperity
Tolerance as right for existence of other opinions, views, and lifestyles
Dialogue as a basis of social consensus
Honesty and openness as a principle of society’s existence
Good will as a precondition of all mentioned above goals coming into life
Labor as a condition of personal self-actualization and society’s well-being
Principles of the Community members:
I want, I can, I do. Know what you want, be able to achieve it, be ready to take advantage of the result.
Patience is above all. Be patient – you cannot achieve everything you want at once.
Don’t judge others more than you judge yourself. Be patient to others’ weaknesses and critical to yours.
Help – and you’ll be helped. Help others in achieving their goals and they will help you.
All the world is inside us. Know yourself and develop your unique skills – that is the way to success.
Learn not only to win but to lose as well. Don’t be distressed with your losses, be grateful for the experience obtained and learn from your mistakes.
Initiative is life. Be enterprising, don’t let the environment to suppress your own “I”.
Be important. Know that your action or opinion can become critical at some moment. Be always ready for that.
Faith is stronger than “no”. Believe! Believe in yourself and in what you are doing!
Vision and priorities
Long-term vision of the Community:
Before Belarus’ coming back to democracy: the Third Way is
current priority #1 - Platform uniting civic and political initiatives: independently and in cooperation with other organizations, initiatives and persons to realize online and offline projects, which correspond to our goals and values, aimed at realizing our vision for Belarus.
current priority #2 - Mass media: disseminates and promotes dissemination of free, uncensored information among Belarusian audience, and information about Belarus among foreign audience by using online and offline distribution networks.
current priority #3 - Leading youth analytical internet center: concentrates intellectual resources of Belarusian youth and promotes online discussions among youth and generation of ideas concerning Belarus’ further development.
After Belarus’ coming back to democracy: the Third Way is
In its essence: - Internet community of new generation of professional national elite of Belarus, diverse yet united in their vision of the country’s future (approval of the Third Way’s national project), based on talented young Belarusians 15 to 35 years old who live both in Belarus and abroad.
- Stable and influential civic platform (the Third Way and the cohort of its partners and supporters in all sectors of Belarusian society) for restraining negative tendencies in country’s political system, its gradual modernization into professional, value-oriented, open-type system (with constant rotation of its members on the basis of competition of their personal potentials).
- The Diaspora – Belarus bridge for young professionals, a way of including young professionals and students into future political and economic life of Belarus, way of their coming back to their homeland.
Our Attitude:
We Are For
We Are Against
Non-violent methods
Violence
Evolutional way of development
Hasty revolutionary changes
State as an institution of realization of goals, set by society
Dictatorship of state in any spheres of society’s life
Diversity of systems of education and distribution
Centralized system of education and distribution
Equal rights and opportunities for all members of society
Equality in rags
Laws corresponding to interests of society and obeyed by it
Selectivity in applying the law
Vision of Belarus’ foreign policy orientation:
Neutral status of Belarus, pragmatic relations with US, Russia, EU, and NATO. Non-alignment with NATO, EU, and Russia, transforming the CIS project into an economic, not a political one, participation in regional cooperation structures in the limits of national interests, responsibility for political and economic obligations which had been undertaken.
Our work and projects
We have been working since 21 August, 2004. We are constantly conducting both in Belarus and abroad effective educational, cultural, and informational projects, engaging other famous Belarusian and international organizations into their realization. Our activity in the field of media is well-known thanks to our satirical cartoons and internet projects.
In the beginning the Third Way consisted only of five people. Today our community is much bigger and has its groups and separate activists in Belarus, Germany, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Estonia.
Our partner platforms:
- Congress of the New Belarusian Diaspora of Europe and the United States is a network uniting best representatives of new generation of Belarusians in the Diaspora and Belarus. It lobbies Belarusian interests abroad, supports Belarusian language and culture, consolidates the young generation of Belarusians, makes informational and educational projects. The Congress is held once a year: 2008 (Tallinn, Estonia), 2009 (Strasbourg, France)
- Liberal Network in Belarus (Belarusian Reformers since 2009) – a network of Belarusian liberal organizations and initiatives (Minsk, Mahileu, Pinsk, Brest, Homel’)
- The New Way for Belarus / Valgevene Uus Tee () – a Belarusian-Estonian NGOworking on issues of Belarusian culture and the Diaspora in Estonia, Europe, and the United States. It supports Belarusian civic, cultural, and expert communities.
Our programs:
- The Renaissance Generation – a program of development of new generation of Belarusian politicians, experts, people of culture, business, and public sphere. Inactionsince 2007.
- Belarusian International Movement – a program of consolidation of sound forces of Belarusian Diaspora and Belarusian civil society based on national principles. Inactionsince 2008.
How and what for we are acting
Our activity, both online and offline, is based on the principles of voluntary participation, self-interest, and priority of self-financing and private donations. However, we have stable contacts with numerous private and institutionalized donor organizations which support our internet activities and activities of our groups outside Belarus.
For us the Third Way is a way of participation in public and political life of our country, as well as an open democratic discussion ground where issues important for today’s and tomorrow’s Belarus are being discussed.
This season our activities were carried out along several priority directions. That was our educational and informational work in Belarus, work with Belarusian Diaspora in Europe and the United States on its consolidation and modernization, media projects and liberal initiatives for Belarus.
We have realized joint informational and liberal projects for young people in Belarus together with our German, Norwegian, Ukrainian, Latvian, and Polish partners; our network and cultural projects for Belarusian Diaspora and Belarusian workers of culture together with our Estonian, Lithuanian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, American, Russian, and French partners. We have been developing our infrastructure and organizational structure. We have reated several new promising initiatives.
Let us look closer at some of the most important projects of ours.
Our new initiatives:
ARU TV liberal internet television – this initiative was created as a separate media campaign in summer 2009 with the purpose of promotion of liberal and European values in post-Soviet countries, creation of new opportunities for dissemination of independent experts’ opinions in Belarus and Russia, increasing the amount of independent TV products broadcasted to Russia and Belarus, and engagement of young people into media creativity. ARU TV was created with the support of liberals from Estonia, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine as is being realized thanks to joint effort of activists from these countries. TheinternettelevisionbroadcastingwillbegininNovember 2009.
For Reforms! liberal movement / Belarusian Reformers – this initiative has grown out of fruitful cooperation of the Third Way liberal community (Minsk, Pinsk), Voka internet project (Minsk), and Modes regional coalition (Mahileu). It was established in the form of a letter of intent to create a public movement during the meeting in Tallinn in August 2009. It was created with the purpose of support of liberal reforms in Belarus and promotion of liberal and European values in Belarus. The initiative was created with the help from Estonian, Danish, Norwegian, and German liberals.
Narod.lu satirical video portal – this internet project was created in autumn 2009 with the purpose of accumulation of creative potential of political satire activists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries, engagement of young people into media creativity. Narod.lu project is being realized together with activists from Estonia, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Theprojectwillbe launchedinOctober 2009
Educational projects / the Renaissance Generation program
The Liberal Club project, is being realized together with our German partner KulturAktiv with the support of the FNST. The project has also been supported by our Norwegian partner NUV. Thisprojectwaslaunchedinautumn 2007. It provides for a series of meeting of young people from the Third Way community and its partners with experts. Theprojectwillcontinueinautumn 2009 andin 2010.
The Belaplus 2009 project, is being conducted together with our German partner KulturAktiv with the support of Bosch Foundation, Stephen Bathory Foundation, and German Marshall Foundation. The project has been conducted since autumn 2007. Its mission is to prepare new leaders for civic groups in Belarus by training them, sending them to European NGO as interns, supporting their realization of micro projects. The first stage of the project was realized in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The project will end in autumn 2009. We plan to continue with it next season.
Informational projects
Beltech project, is being realized together with our German partner KulturAktiv with the support of FNST. This project has been conducted since the middle of 2007. In the framework of the project there were IT solutions developed for the support of internet activism and civic activity in Belarus. Theprojectwillendin 2009.
We go on with production of political animation in the framework of People's TV / Mediacenter project. The production of new cartoons started in December 2007. There were more created than 30 cartoons on various issues of Belarusian reality. The cartoons are being distributed via the Third Way’s websites, YouTube, and the Third Way’s newsletter.
We are issuing regularly the Third Way newsletter newspaper. The newspaper is being issued 1-2 times a month and consists of different Third Way’s activities and websites announcements and useful opportunities for our audience. Thenewslettersaudienceis 1000 people.
We support and regularly update the community’s websites: informational and analytical www.3dway.org. satirical and , our projects’ and our partners’ websites, youtube channels.
Activities in the Diaspora / Expert meetings / Cultural projects
Congress of New Diaspora of Europe and the United States in Strasbourg. It was attended by more than 35 representatives from 16 countries. The event was supported by the Council of Europe and German Marschall Foundation (April 2009).
Concert of Belarusian singer Rusya (Akana-NHS) in Tallinn, Narva, and Stockholm (together with Open Estonia foundation and Nordic Council, June 2009).
Photo exhibitions of Kseniya Avimava and young photographers from Belarus in Strasbourg, Tallinn, and Narva in April – May 2009 (together with Open Estonia foundation, the Council of Europe, and Nordic Council).
Installation of a memorial plaque onto the former building of BPR’s embassy in Tallinn (in the framework of the New Diaspora Congress, spring-autumn 2008).
Meeting with Belarusian movies director Viktar Dashuk and demonstration of his movie about Belarusion People’s Republic (together with Open Estonia, May 2008).
The Order of Freedom – award to the best Belarusian youth activist, established by the Congress of New Belarusian Diaspora in 2008. It has been awarded to Dmitri Dashkevich (2008), Andrei Kim and Ivan Shylo (2009).
Art v. Dictatorship – moving exhibition of Belarusian dissident artists. It was open in Estonian Parliament in summer 2008. The exhibition is demonstrated in the U.S., Scandinavia, and the Baltics.
The Congress of New Belarusian Diaspora of Europe and the United States of America: Global Network of Young Professionals for Democratic Belarus
Our mission: why we are here?
To unite the Belarusian diaspora living in the Nordic countries of Europe and the US with the aim of strengthening new young political leadership of Belarus and influencing the democratic developments in Belarus.
Our vision for the future: why we are different?
We are institutionalizing ourselves at a crucial moment in the history of Belarus.
We believe that the momentum has come for new young Belarusian leaders. On the one hand, Lukashenka’s authority is weakening and in nearest future will have to either transform into something less totalitarian or to give way to other forces. On the other hand, representatives of opposition parties on account of their specific development in the last decade can fulfill these functions effectively only on a very limited scale. Present day’s elite is not capable of maintaining stability in the country without Lukashenka being at rule and is hardly competitive as a political force.
We are going to propose a unique approach aimed at meeting the challenge that Belarusian society is facing.
We establish a remote network of professionals in different fields, i.e. political communications, diplomacy, IT and media, business and economy, language and culture.
This network is a modern approach, flexible and mobile and is free of conventional bureaucracy.
This network is able to act promptly, effectively and efficiently at any time and from many places in the world.
This network is going to focus both on the issues of establishing and uniting the mainstream of Belarusian diaspora living the Nordic countries and the US, as well as on the Belarusian society. We are assessing adequately its capabilities and potential in this situation and are striving not only to maximize its role in changing elites in the country but also to train in advance skilled young professionals who will have a strategic vision of Belarus’ future. Our mission is going to be the basis of this vision – to promote modernization of Belarus into a successful and competitive country with a priority of liberal values.
Vision of the Community’s role:
Informational projects
Activities in the Diaspora / Expert meetings / Cultural projects
