Transformation Lab
How do changes happen after authoritarianism, and what could Belarus’s path towards democratization look like?
What happens to the state, economy, and society after an authoritarian regime weakens or falls? How can we build new institutions, make difficult decisions, and take the interests of different groups into account? What helps democratization take root, and what can lead to an authoritarian rollback?
Transformation Lab is an educational programme for young Belarusians who want to understand how post-authoritarian transformations happen and how to pave the way towards the democratization of the country’s political system.
The programme helps participants understand the political, economic, and social changes that accompany this process, as well as the challenges that a future Belarus may face.
This is not a general course on civic activism and not a school of abstract leadership. Transformation Lab is about knowledge, tools, and practical experience that will help participants better understand transformation processes and possible scenarios for Belarus’s future.
The project is implemented by the Belarusian Students’ Association (BSA), Belarusian National Youth Council RADA, Academic Network Eastern Europe (akno e.V.) and Association Salidarnast with the support of the Federal Foreign Office.
Who is the programme for?
We invite young Belarusians aged 18 to 35.
The programme is primarily intended for those currently living in exile in EU countries. Experience in civic, student, community, or political activism is an advantage, but is not required. What matters most is an interest in the future of Belarus, a willingness to learn and analyse, and a commitment to completing the entire programme! The working languages of the programme are Belarusian and Russian.
What awaits you?
The programme consists of three interconnected stages, each offering a different way of looking at transformation!
1. Study Visit — 22.09.2026–27.09.2026
Five days together with other programme participants.
During the Study Visit, you will meet experts, researchers, representatives of civil society, and people who have personally experienced social and political transformations on the path towards democracy.
This is an opportunity not simply to listen about transformations, but to speak with people who have first-hand experience of these processes, ask questions, and discuss what happened and why.
We will explore the experience of different countries, primarily Poland and Germany, to look at how democratic and post-authoritarian transformations took place, what decisions were made, what challenges societies and states faced, and what consequences these decisions had.
The Study Visit is the first step towards understanding the bigger picture of transformation.
2. Online Programme — October 2026
After the Study Visit, participants will continue their learning online. Over the course of five weeks, you will have access to the online course and a group chat where you can discuss the materials, ask questions, and engage in discussions with other participants with the support of the programme’s mentors.
Each week will focus on a different topic, and the course will require approximately 2 hours of study per week.
However, the main goal of the course is not simply to gain more information about political, economic, and social processes. Participants will explore how a “window of opportunity” for political transformation emerges and changes over time.
The course is structured as a journey of a change agent. Imagine that, at a certain point, a country has an opportunity for change. What should you do at that moment? How can you understand whether a window of opportunity has truly opened? How can you turn public mobilisation into a real resource for negotiations? Who should you negotiate with, and what should you negotiate about? How should you make decisions when the consequences of reforms affect different groups in different ways? And what should you do after the first changes take place to ensure that they become firmly established rather than leading to an authoritarian reversal?
This situation does not have one predetermined scenario: the “window of opportunity” may widen, remain partially open, or close again. This is influenced by a combination of factors — the political situation, the economic context, the level of public support, the ability of different groups to reach agreements, the quality of institutions, and the decisions made at critical moments.
During the course, participants will analyse which factors contribute to opening or closing this “window”, which tools can help turn opportunities into democratic change, and which risks can lead to an authoritarian reversal.
The course will consist of five modules:
- Window of Opportunity
Actor’s question: Has the moment come, or am I imagining it? - At the Negotiating Table Actor’s question: Who am I negotiating with, and what needs to be achieved?
- The Foundational Period: Distribution of Costs and Assets
Actor’s question: Who bears the costs of reforms, and who receives the assets? - The Valley of Transition
Actor’s question: Does the republic feel like our own? - Consolidation or Reversal
Actor’s question: Will the republic survive five years?
This is not simply a lecture-based course. Each module offers tools for analysis and action: working with real and possible scenarios, practical exercises, discussions, and reflection on how different decisions can lead to different outcomes.
In this way, the online course will become a kind of Change Agent’s Handbook — a set of knowledge, questions, and tools that will help participants analyse opportunities for transformation, make decisions at critical moments, and understand how individual decisions can shape a country’s subsequent trajectory. The handbook can also serve as a resource to return to after the programme has ended.
3. LARP Transformation Lab — 08.11.2026–11.11.2026
The final stage of the programme is a three-day role-playing simulation of political transformation.
Here, you will have the opportunity to put into practice everything you have learned during the Study Visit and online course.
Participants will take on different roles of political and social actors with different interests, opportunities, and resources.
You will have to negotiate, build coalitions, find compromises, make institutional decisions, respond to crises, and consider the consequences of your decisions.
The LARP will demonstrate that political transformation is not a linear process with one correct solution. Different groups have different interests, opportunities, and visions for the future, and every decision can have unexpected consequences.
Here, theory turns into practice.
What will you gain?
Participation in Transformation Lab will help you:
- better understand how post-authoritarian transformations happen;
- learn about the experiences of other countries and compare different paths towards democratization;
- understand the political, economic, and social aspects of transformation;
- gain practical tools for analysis and decision-making;
- develop negotiation and compromise-building skills;
- discuss complex questions with experts, mentors, and other young Belarusians;
- put the knowledge you have gained into practice through a political transformation simulation.
And, of course, meet people who are also thinking about Belarus’s future and want to be prepared for it.
Participation in the programme is free. We cover travel, accommodation, food, and participation in all educational elements of the programme.
The project takes place in Poland from September to November 2026, work language – Belarusian and Russian.
Important: participation in all three stages of the programme is mandatory!
Application deadline: September 5, 2026. You can fill in the registration form using the link!
