“Building connections through reflection”: How a Belarusian activist united people around working with the past
How can we work with a difficult past through art, reflection, and the body? In June, the international training Reflect to Connect took place in Weimar (Germany), focusing on historical memory, communities, and finding new ways to talk about traumatic experiences. We spoke with the project’s initiator and main inspirer about how the idea for Reflect to Connect was born, which personal principles help her complete projects successfully, what happened during the training, and why community and trust became its key outcomes.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from, where do you live now, and what do you do?
I am Belarusian, born in Polesia. My childhood and youth were spent surrounded by strong traditions and rituals — this had a profound impact on me, shaping my worldview and my approach to life. Later, I moved to Minsk, where I studied and worked in the NGO sector, volunteered, and took part in international exchanges — traveling to the Czech Republic, Georgia, and Spain.
In the early 2020s, I went to Germany for a volunteer year. At that time in Belarus, I was living with constant panic attacks and nervous tension. The volunteer year became an opportunity to reset, take care of myself, and focus on my mental health. During that year, I saw how well-developed the NGO network was in Germany and how many opportunities there were to carry out projects. I also studied German at the university. That’s why I decided to stay here.
How did the idea for Reflect to Connect come about? Why did you decide to address such a complex topic — working with a difficult collective past?
The idea for the project Reflect to Connect arose when I was reading a book Pa Što Idzieš, Vouča? (What Is It You Seek, Wolf?) written by Eva Vezhnavets. The book made a strong impression on me. It shows how people in Polesia lived through different historical periods — World War II, the repressions of the Soviet era, and the repressions in contemporary Belarus. I was struck by how these complex, intertwined histories shaped the lives of the characters.
Living in Germany, I also noticed that, at first glance, many things related to historical memory here seem well-organized and thoughtfully structured: educational programs are conducted, memorials are created, and conditions for engaging with the past are established. Many Belarusian participants who come here for activities say, “Everything here is so well and wisely organized!” However, at the level of families and personal experience, the situation is often very different. People are still living with the consequences of World War II; in families, it is often not customary to discuss the past, and traumas and emotions remain hidden.I became interested in exploring how we can engage with the past on a deeper level — not just through historical facts, but also through emotions and body-based practices. This is so important for processing traumatic experiences and understanding their impact on a person.
I then thought it would be interesting to create something at the intersection of different fields — art, history, psychology, and, of course, youth work. 🙂 That’s how the concept of Reflect to Connect was born.
The Reflect to Connect program brings together activities from very different fields. And the outcomes of these activities are hard to plan or predict in advance. Where did you find the courage to launch such a project? And how satisfied are you with what you achieved in the end?
Wow, courage? Honestly, I didn’t really think about courage. I was just curious to turn my idea into a real project. It was exciting and not scary at all. More than that, when I was writing the idea down on paper, it seemed to me that implementing it in practice would be easy. I thought, “I’ll just assign tasks — and everyone will work!” 🙂 But when I started assembling the team — partner organizations, trainers from different countries, experts for workshops — I realized how much effort and energy it would take to keep this whole “machine” running.
And yet, I am very satisfied with the result. I see the training in Weimar as a pilot, the first step of the Reflect to Connect project. We are already preparing the next phase, which will take place in Italy. There, we plan to work with the same team and the same participants. My experience has shown that long-term projects provide the opportunity to build trust, deep connections, and sustainable partnerships. When people already know each other, each new meeting allows us to go further and work more deeply. And the results, even if not always measurable quantitatively, become visible in the long term.
You mentioned that you underestimated the amount of time and effort required to implement the project. What keeps you motivated to complete a project?
When I face difficulties, what drives me first and foremost is the same curiosity: what will happen next, what impact the project will have on people, and how it will affect them. Of course, there’s also a bit of ego involved — it’s rewarding to be part of something meaningful and to see the results of your efforts.
I also follow the principle of working only with people I feel comfortable with. I believe that this is the only way to achieve real results.
I mostly assembled the team for this project from people I had already worked with or about whom I had heard good feedback. We carefully discussed the possibility of collaboration, exchanged messages, and met online to understand how well we could work together.
In the end, everything came together in this supportive team. For me, the mission of the project became not only to create a valuable program for the participants but also to bring together people who know how to work well, who can help build the Reflect to Connect community with me, and who will be able to collaborate on future projects even without me.
Were you able to form a unified group from the participants during the training and lay the foundation for a community?
Yes, one of the most important goals of the project is to bring participants together and help them learn about each other’s realities and experiences. The title Reflect to Connect shows this idea — building connections through reflection. I personally work a lot with a psychologist and believe that shared experiences and reflection can truly bring people closer together.
At first, the group was very cautious. But already on the first day, after the sessions, the trainers suggested holding a Human Library: each person became a “book” and shared their story.
This was very important — the participants realized that this space was created not only to learn about historical events in different countries, but also to share personal experiences, to be seen, and to feel supported.
The project included very diverse stories: Belarusians shared recent experiences of repression, while participants from Germany and Italy shared family histories or more distant historical experiences. How did the differences in the “weight” of these experiences influence the atmosphere within the group?
Yes, the differences in participants’ experiences were definitely noticeable. For many Belarusian participants, it was the first time they were in a group with so many fellow Belarusians and heard so much personal and collective pain. They had a strong need to share their own stories and to be heard.
For participants from Germany and Italy, the need was a bit different — more about listening, understanding, and learning. At the same time, their personal stories were also powerful: in Germany, for example, there is currently a rise in support for right-wing parties, and many people fear that history could repeat itself. In Italy, the situation is similar, with a surge of right-wing movements seeking to gain power.
In the end, the different experiences and needs of the participants intersected and came together to form a cohesive mosaic. In my view, this was the strength of the project: to bring people together, highlight points of connection, and provide an opportunity to understand one another despite differences in experience.
Which moments of the Reflect to Connect project were the most memorable for you?
One of the most powerful activities in the program was the workshop “What I Witnessed from the Witness.” Through art-based practices, participants shared the stories of witnesses of dictatorships and people who had experienced repression. Some dared to share their own stories, while others shared accounts from books and memoirs. Some spoke directly on camera, while others used shadows and abstract imagery.
The trainer did an incredible job, consulting with colleagues and experts to ensure the workshop was safe for participants and would not retraumatize anyone. Participation in this workshop was voluntary, but the entire Belarusian group got involved.
The screening of the finished videos was, for me, perhaps one of the most emotional moments of the entire program: some people cried, some couldn’t watch the whole video and left the room. Yet the stories were expressed and heard — giving an important sense that emotions and experiences were acknowledged and valued. The workshop was deeply therapeutic.
And what happened after such intense activities? Were there reflection sessions or supportive practices?
We always made sure that participants could process their emotions safely. The project actively used body-based practices: shaking, tapping, dance, and movement exercises that helped “release” tension and let out accumulated pain.
In addition, we paid close attention to individual boundaries — constantly emphasizing that everyone has the freedom to choose. If someone was struggling emotionally, we offered alternative ways to participate, created spaces for rest, and did everything to ensure that each person felt safe. For many participants, this was an important knowledge: you can listen to yourself and choose when and how to engage in activities. This approach helped build trust and a supportive atmosphere within the group.
We actually decided to cancel one of the planned activities. Initially, the project included two trips — to the Buchenwald memorial complex and to the former Topf & Söhne factory, which produced crematorium ovens for concentration camps. At Buchenwald, participants spent three hours in a highly engaging, intense dialogue with the guide. After the tour, the group needed a lot of time to process what they had seen and heard.
At that point, it became clear to us that following the original plan would be inappropriate and could potentially harm the participants. So we simply canceled the second trip.
For us, it was more important to maintain the safety and trust of the participants than to stick to a formal schedule. Sensitivity to the group and providing support — that is the most important principle for the Reflect to Connect team.
One of the questions that the Reflect to Connect program encourages participants to explore is: “What can we do now to reduce injustice in the world and preserve the memory of events and experiences that shape us today?” How would you answer this question yourself?
I believe the key is to build communities and connections between people. For example, I myself live in the House Project — a community of eighteen people and two dogs, where we self-organize, support each other, and create a system of solidarity. I see the same principle in youth work: it’s important to create projects — like Reflect to Connect — and environments where young people can learn empathy and dialogue, design and develop initiatives in their communities, so that the experiences they gain and the ideas they create together can be put into practice and bring real positive change. I am convinced that these connections, mutual support, and participation lay the foundation for preventing the recurrence of past injustices and traumas.
* The interview is published anonymously for safety reasons.
