📅 April 15, 2026
⏰ 6:00–7:30 PM
💻 Online
🌐 English & Belarusian (simultaneous interpretation)
✍️: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ISjSJD0qTUKiH6QIbfLu9Q#/registration

The 1986 Charnobyl disaster became part of transnational history and affected the lives of many societies. Russia’s war against Ukraine has again brought to the forefront the memory of Charnobyl and the issue of safety.

We will discuss which images of the disaster and life after it are now being established in Belarusian society, which remain marginalized, and how state policy, science, and cultural practices influence this process. An important aspect will also be the question of how Charnobyl continues to be present in the identity of people born after the disaster. The discussion will also focus on examples of how the lives of displaced persons have changed, as well as the children who participated in international humanitarian programs outside of Belarus.

The discussion will also address the transnational dimension of the memory of Charnobyl: how different countries and communities interpret this event, what forms of solidarity have emerged as a result, and whether a common framework for understanding the disaster has been formed.

With:

Julia Cimafiejeva (Poet, author, and translator, Berlin)
David Roger Marples (University of Alberta, Canada)
Moderation: Aliaksei Bratachkin (FernUniversität in Hagen)
Introduction: Gabriele Freitag (German Association for East European Studies)

Funded by the Federal Foreign Office.