Applications for venues have already been submitted to the largest libraries in Minsk. If they are rejected the organizers will likely use the offices of opposition political parties and civil society groups. The organizers invited political and civil society activists to offer texts for dictation at the contest. The contest is designed to show "love and respect for the native tongue," Viktar Ivashkevich, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, said at a news conference in Minsk on Thursday.
Political analyst Uladzimir Padhol, who authored the idea of launching the contest, said that the event will help make the Belarusian language "a banner, a march, a demonstration." "One may put the written text into his family archives, preserve it for ancestors and pass it to them as a unique evidence of respect for Belarusian authenticity," he said.
The organizers are planning to present awards to winners and display their texts in countries where many ethnic Belarusians live and also at the UN headquarters in New York City.
Ales Byalyatski, vice president of the International Federation of Human Rights, said that the contest will "help Belarusians to defend their essential linguistic rights." "The law on languages is violated, with officials using it to discriminate against the Belarusian-speaking part of society. There are no well-ordered Belarusian-language regulations in the country," he said."
Source: Naviny, February 22, 2008; by Marat Haravy
"The festival is being organized by the State Committee on the Press (SCP), the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences, and the local executive authorities. According to the SCP, pavilions on the town's market square will host folk performances and exhibitions of old and new books and publications."
"Guests are expected to include representatives of the Belarusian leadership, government officials from Cyprus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine, as well as writers and journalists from Croatia, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. A scholarly conference on Belarusian literature will be held in Zaslavl on September 2."
"On August 30, scholars and writers will join Orthodox clergymen on a five-day tour of national shrines. A flame lit at the Holy Sepulcher will be carried from Minsk's Cathedral of the Holy Ghost to Zaslavl through Brest, Kobrin, Baranovichi, Stolbtsy, and Dzerzhinsk."
"The pilgrimage will be marked by prayer services in churches along the way and by meetings with representatives of the local communities and students. The itinerary will include the Brest Fortress Memorial, the museum of 18th-century Russian general Aleksandr Suvorov in Kobrin, and a church on the battlesite near Baranovichi where Suvorov defeated Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish rebels in the 1790s."
"Belarusian nationalists regard Suvorov as a cruel military leader who suppressed a revolt of Belarusians for independence against the Russian invaders."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 67; Wednesday, August 16, 2000; 5:40 p.m.
"The print order for books in Belarusian dropped by 27.8 percent in 1999, Mr. Nichiporovich said."
"In 1999, 5,161 titles were printed in Russian. Their print order totaled 56.9 million."
"Mr. Nichiporovich said that the low demand for Belarusian- language books last year and a large number of orders from Russia had been the main reasons for the fall in the number of Belarusian-language books printed in 1999. He said that the government's subsidizing of up to 75 percent of the cost of the Belarusian-language books last year had not been a solution to the problem. 'The main thing is the demand for the Belarusian language in society, in particular the desire to speak, read and write in Belarusian,' Mr. Nichiporovich said."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 65; Tuesday, February 15, 2000; 9:00 p.m.
Article: Day of Belarusian Literature to be Marked by Large-Scale Festivities
"According to Mr. Podgainy, emphasis will be laid on promoting Belarusian-language books and periodicals. Mr. Podgainy expressed 'particular concern' about the low print run of publications in Belarusian. At the same time, he expressed hope that the authorities would 'break the trend' through 'propaganda and support of Belarusian books.' "
"On September 1, lectures and seminars on Belarusian literature, printing, and press will take place at schools and universities. The festivities will culminate in events organized Pinsk in the Brest region on September 1. The events will include a festive church service and march, a photo exhibition about Belarus, book rollouts, and concerts."
"It will be attended by some high-ranking government officials, prominent scholars, guests from Russia and Ukraine, and officials from the Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian Embassies."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 78; Thursday, August 19, 1999; 9:20 p.m.
"According to Mr. Petrovich, the number of students receiving instruction in Belarusian has been on a steady decline lately. They accounted for 13.l4 percent of the secondary school students in 1997/1998 and only for 11 percent in 1999/2000."
"In the opinion of Mr. Petrovich, the decline in the number of students taught in Belarusian is a 'serious problem', and the authorities can do more to solve it. Mr. Petrovich emphasized the need to step up propaganda among the parents in order to draw children into Belarusian-language classes. At the same time, he said, it is necessary to encourage the use of Belarusian in higher education, not only in the Humanities, but in exact and natural sciences as well."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 95; Tuesday, June 22, 1999; 5:00 p.m.
Article: New Belarusian Dictionary Comes Out
"The preface says that the 5-volume Belarusian dictionary published in 1977-1984 has become a bibliographic rarity and there was a need to compile a new one-volume compact dictionary."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 68; Monday, May 17, 1999; 8:00 p.m.
"According to Mr. Trusov, about half of the secondary school students in Lida are taught in Belarusian. Lida has 160 BLS cells, more than in any other town in Belarus. Local business people finance the BLS's newspaper Nasha Slova, the printing run of which increased from 2,300 to 4,300 after its editorial office moved from Minsk to Lida."
"Lida residents are proud of their medieval castle dating back to the 14th century, which is being restored at present, and a monument to Francisak Skaryna, a prominent Belarusian scholar and printing pioneer of the 16th century. The monument, designed by sculptor Valery Yanushkevich, was unveiled in 1993."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 33; Monday, May 10, 1999; 12:20 p.m.
"Presenting the bill to the lower chamber, Education Minister Vasily Strazhev pointed out that 'the document would regulate the use and development of the Belarusian, Russian, and other languages that are used in Belarus.' He said that the law on languages, which was enacted in 1990, has some flaws. For instance, it stipulates that educational institutions teaching in Russian and other languages may only function in "the areas of their representatives' compact residence," which Mr Strazhev believes runs counter to the constitution."
"The minister said that the bill would give equal status to both languages in all spheres of life, and provide people with the right to choose which of the two languages they should use for their education."
"According to Mr Strazhev, 500,000 pupils and students in the country are currently taught in Belarusian and 1 million in Russian."
"The Russian language only is used by 294 periodicals, 118 are published in Belarusian, 242 in Russian and Belarusian, and 187 in Belarusian and Russian. Some newspapers and magazines are published in Polish, Ukrainian, English, French, and German."
"According to the State Committee on the Press, 369 periodicals were founded by enterprises and organisations of collective, mixed, and private forms of ownership; 109 by associations; 121 by editorial staffs; 134 by local authorities; 94 by ministries and governmental institutions; 53 by state-run enterprises, 26 by religious organisations, 4 by the Presidential Administration; 2 by the Council of Ministers; 1 by the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly; and 1 by the Constitutional Court."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 47; Tuesday, December 16, 1997; 8:00 p.m.