We are the team of the Belarus 2020 Foundation, organizing the project “Memory Book 2020.” We invite everyone to unite around the idea of documenting and developing the very best of our solidarity gave us during the revolutionary events of 2020, because memory is the foundation of the future.
People are being released from prison, and many leave the country immediately. Newly freed prisoners are offered initial financial assistance, medical and psychological support, housing, and retraining programs. But no one (yet) answers the deeper questions: Why did we risk everything? Why did we suffer? How did we survive? Yes, there is confusion in the Belarusian air. But…
The “Memory Book 2020” project presents the first attempts to address key themes:
“What happened to us?”
“How will we use the experience we gained?” — abroad, inside the country, and in the future?
Collective leadership, an unprecedented number of protesters for Europe, and the extraordinary speed of self-organization — this is what defined Belarusians in 2020.
We are asking society for financial support to take the first steps toward a shared understanding of our memory — so recent, so vivid, so painful, and yet so uplifting. In the future, we envision the creation of an Institute of the Belarusian Idea. For now, we move from small steps toward something greater.
Journalists and human rights defenders collect and publish testimonies. We will rely on already documented materials to convey to ourselves and to the world the image of “2020” through both artistic and documentary forms.
“Memory Book 2020” is the title of an entire project — a series of creative acts. The first book will focus on the events of August 9–12, 2020: from the closing of polling stations to the emergence of the “women in white” in the streets.
We see the first volume as a collection of stories united into a single narrative arc. At the same time, we believe it is essential to include expert analysis of the nature and context of the events of 2020. The book should read like a work of literature, yet be as accurate as a textbook.
The text is written in a way that it can immediately serve as the basis for a mini-series screenplay. Visual storytelling will help Belarusians tell their story to the world.
Support us. Support yourselves. Support our shared future.
Fundraising goal
€5000
This amount will cover the initial costs of writing, editing, design, and printing 1,000 copies of the first volume of “Memory Book 2020”.