Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2021 with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Belarusian opposition leader gave inaugural keynote speech for new lecture series by German Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS)

Hamburg, 11. November 2021. “We at the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung could not be prouder to have one of the most inspiring global voices for democracy as inaugural speaker of our Helmut Schmidt Lecture: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of Belarusian democratic forces.” These were the opening words of Peer Steinbrück, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the BKHS, when he welcomed the guest of the first Helmut Schmidt Lecture yesterday. 

The Belarusian opposition leader is not only the prominent face of the peaceful protests for democracy, she is the pleading voice for democracy in Europe: “What is often taken for granted in Germany and Europe, thousands of Belarusians have to fight for every day: freedom. This is not just about Belarus. It is about the future of democracy in Europe. We need a radical transition and more bold action for democracy.”

In her keynote she stressed that Europe must once again become a magnet for other countries and free itself from fatalism and the belief in its own powerlessness. 

This year´s Helmut Schmidt Lecture motto “Living Democracy!” has become Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya´s guideline since August 2020. She has lived in exile in Lithuania since the arrest of her husband, who ran for president last year, and continues to organize protests against ruler Lukashenko in her home country from there. She has since become a symbol of peaceful fights for democracy and female leadership.

In order to help her gathering support for a free and democratic Belarus the BKHS has organized an outstanding political framework program for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya during her stay in Berlin. Above all she was received by German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Bellevue Palace. Furthermore, she met vice chancellor Olaf Scholz, other members of the German government and parliament.

Publication „Living democracy!“

Welcome speech by Peer Steinbrück (PDF)

Speech by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (PDF)

Trailer Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2021

Graphic Recording Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2021

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