National-cultural associations

Representatives of 141 nationalities live in the Republic of Belarus, 213 public organizations and their branches of 27 nationalities function, which, as a rule, carry out activities active cultural and educational activities.

In order to provide support and coordination of this activity, organizational and methodological and practical assistance to national cultural and educational associations in the implementation of their statutory activities, the Ministry of Culture issued Order No. 291 of 22 December 1994 establishing the “Republican Center for National Cultures”.

The public associations of Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Afghans, Greeks, Georgians, Dagestanis, Jews, Kazakhs, Koreans, Lithuanians, Moldovans, Germans, Palestinians, Poles, Russians, Tatars, Bashkirs, Turkmens, Ukrainians, Gypsies, Chuvashes, Estonians  actively, initiative and successfully work with the Center.

Working with the national-cultural public associations gives its positive results, which are expressed in the active cultural activities of their representatives. Each national-cultural public association has the opportunity to receive methodological, organizational and other support for its activities in the cultural sphere (the level and volume of received support often depends on the activity of the national-cultural public association itself).

Monthly meetings to exchange experience and coordinate joint plans with the leaders of creative teams of national cultural cultural associations operating at the Center are held, reports on activity and problems of work are heard.

Most of the events take place with the organizational and methodological assistance of the Center without direct financial support for the activities of the national-cultural public associations by the state, it is a social investment of the national-cultural public associations in preserving and strengthening peace and mutual understanding in the multinational civil society of Belarus. This is explained by the growing trust of national-cultural public associations to the Center as a reliable partner on the part of the state.

An example of constructive interaction and cooperation of national associations with each other and government bodies, as well as the democratic nature of these relations, is the Consultative Council of National Communities at the Center.

The Council at the Center has been operating for more than 20 years. It includes 21 representatives of national national-cultural public associations in Belarus. The form of such self-government speaks about the absence of confrontation between the nationalities living in the republic, gives them the opportunity to form their own public activities, participate in the socio-cultural life of the republic, jointly consider and solve emerging issues.

The Council meets at least once every quarter. The main range of issues is the field of cultural activity of the national-cultural public associations, as well as the most relevant problem issues in the activities of associations. Representatives of various state administration bodies, mass media, cultural and art institutions, experts in the field of national relations are invited to the meetings.