Pryvitanne!
Maria Paula Survilla, Executive Director
It is an amazing thing to be a part of a project that, by its very nature, is constantly emerging. The Center for Belarusian Studies is such an endeavor.
Established as a focal point for Belarusian research, resources, and cultural programming, the Center demonstrates how unique initiatives can develop into successful and exciting ongoing projects.
Our mandate,
promoting the revival of the Belarus nation through higher education,
is at once specific and holistic. The focus on education recognizes the role that knowledge and experience play in the formation and maintenance of healthy societies.
If open inquiry, freedom of speech, academic and journalistic freedoms, and human rights are determining factors of that health, then current conditions in Belarus fall distressingly short.
Knowledge empowers and ultimately provides a solid foundation for an active, informed, and confident citizenry. The CBS, offers a dynamic core for accessing and indeed developing that knowledge.
We have been very active since the establishment of the Center. Our website describes our visiting scholar program, our stipend support of Belarusian culture students at the EHU, and the release of our inaugural publication in the Center’s monograph series . Belarusian-language summer institutes are in development as are broader Belarusian study programs.
We are particularly proud that we have become identified as a resource that serves individuals and organizations outside of the academy as well. This is evident through our growing Belarusian library enriched by the donation of important book collections and archives. We provide a physical location for these materials as well as a future virtual location for research through digitized resources.
We have also realized that the CBS is fundamentally strengthened by the presence of many individuals and groups. The growing list of affiliated institutions , the help and support of Belarusians throughout the United States and Europe, the active presence of Board members, and of community members all represent the backbone of what the CBS can accomplish.
A key source of support continues to be found in the efforts of Southwestern College. What good fortune that the CBS emerged and exists within the framework of this institution, where “how do we do it?” is the dominant philosophy.
We are driven. We are constantly emerging. We have offered many firsts through our initiatives and we strive to do more. I invite you to visit our site, to contact us, to become involved in the support of the Center for Belarusian Studies, and to participate in the extraordinary things that knowledge can bring.
Maria Paula Survilla, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Center for Belarusian Studies
