Matskevich Gathers Politicians for a Methodological "Game". Babaryka Is Coming, Tsikhanouskaya — Not Yet. What's Happening and How Much Does It Cost?

Uladzimir Matskevich. Photo: Belsat

Methodologist and former political prisoner Uladzimir Matskevich plans to gather representatives of politics, business, media, and civil society in one place for a week at the end of April. The goal is to try to formulate a common vision for how the Belarusian emigration should live and act further.

He calls this format an organizational-activity game.

We spoke with Matskevich and found out what this "game" is, who will participate in it, and how much it costs.

Uladzimir Matskevich is a philosopher and methodologist who has been working with similar formats since the late 1980s. In 2021, he was arrested and spent more than four years behind bars.

What is this format

According to Uladzimir Matskevich, it's not a game in the usual sense, but a method of collective systemic work in complex situations where there are no ready-made solutions.

"We work with problems for which there are no standard answers," he says.

The format involves full immersion for seven days. Participants are divided into groups, and game technicians and methodologists work with them. The main task is not to smooth over contradictions, but on the contrary, to identify them and make them the subject of work.

"The main principle is to gather a group of participants in one place who model a problematic situation. So that everyone it affects is represented there: from grassroots initiatives to political leaders, from media and human rights defenders to people from humanitarian spheres — medicine, education, and others. Ideally — at least one representative from each important sphere.

All contradictions and conflicts are brought out during the game. They are not hidden under the rug; they are visualized, presented, and participants begin to work with them to reach a compromise and cooperation. One of the main lines of work is finding common ground with those without whom your own goals remain unattainable. The method is labor-intensive and quite expensive," notes the methodologist.

Why now

Matskevich describes the situation in the Belarusian emigration as disunited: there are goals, but no common strategy or understanding of how to achieve them.

"We have goals, but there is no full agreement among various political and public structures regarding these goals and methods of action. There is no consolidation of efforts. This is evident in almost all spheres — humanitarian, civil, and political. There are declared values and goals aimed at changes in the country, but there is almost no understanding of what means to use to achieve them and what resources to rely on. There is a lack of a program and approach to use all this for the common good. From the practice of recent decades, I can say: I don't know a more effective method than an organizational-activity game for such situations," the methodologist is convinced.

Who will participate

Initially, the budget was calculated for 60 people, but now 72 people have confirmed their participation.

The organizers strive to gather the most diverse composition: politicians and representatives of various structures, business, media and human rights defenders, activists and humanitarian initiatives from the Belarusian and Russian emigration, as well as participants from neighboring countries — Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.

Viktar Babaryka has confirmed his participation in the game. The presence of representatives of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment is announced, and the participation of Franak Viacorka is expected. The arrival of Siarhei Tsikhanouski from the USA is also likely. Possible participation of representatives of initiatives like "Bysol" and "Cyberpartisans" is also mentioned.

"People are still finalizing their plans: they need to free up a week, consider health, documents, work. But all political structures will be represented," Matskevich assures.

He specifically emphasizes that he would like to see Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the game — however, she has not yet given her consent. According to him, she was one of the first to be invited, and they even adjusted the dates to fit her schedule.

"She doesn't really want to come, but I'm still trying to convince her. Sviatlana is a central figure; we all need her very much. But she also needs us," says Matskevich.

Matskevich talks about the fateful importance of his game.

"Whoever places bets in the game wins. Whoever doesn't — loses even before it starts. Refusal to participate means, at minimum, that you will get nothing. And at maximum — you might find yourself outside the process. If the game is successful and truly begins to change the direction of activities of political and public forces, then those who did not participate will remain outside of this process. So I say simply: if you don't want to — don't participate. But I warned you," the methodologist sternly formulates his position.

One of the elements of the game is the clash of different strategies. For example, according to Matskevich, Viktar Babaryka is expected to present his own program, developed outside the game, so that it can be critically analyzed.

"At the game, at least two strategies developed by different teams will clash. And everyone will understand that their strategy is partial and unrealistic without today's opponents," he explains.

According to the plan, confrontation should turn into cooperation by the second day. Matskevich himself describes this process metaphorically: "It's like a tango. There is tension, there is conflict, but one cannot dance without the other."

At the same time, some participants are not disclosed for security reasons, which prevents a complete assessment of the balance and composition of the meeting.

"There are volunteers from Ukraine, Poland, Belarusian businessmen in emigration who want to be present themselves. For some, we suggest covering their own expenses," says Matskevich.

Cost of the issue

The game requires significant expenses and resources: seven days of comfortable accommodation, dozens of participants, travel from various countries including the USA, and the work of the organizing team make participation expensive.

The minimum cost of participation for one person is 2000 euros. But Matskevich emphasizes that the project is financed by Belarusian businesses abroad and the participants themselves.

Why?

The declared outcome is a common strategy for the Belarusian diaspora. Uladzimir Matskevich claims that without the involvement of a wide range of participants, any strategy will remain "just on paper." 

"As a result of the game, we envision a common strategy for the activities of broad circles of Belarusian emigration and diasporas, primarily in Lithuania and Poland, where most Belarusians found themselves after 2020.

People often tell me: 'Why? We already have strategies — from Azarau, from the Office, from others.' But I reply: these are strategies of individual structures. Why should everyone else implement what has been defined by someone in a narrow circle? A strategy works only when those who will implement it themselves participate in its development," says the methodologist.

According to him, the game team is primarily interested in changes within Belarus itself. And what the diaspora and migration are capable of doing to influence and accelerate these changes.

But will the discussions at the game remain just discussions? Uladzimir Matskevich is convinced that he will succeed in organizing the process and achieving the stated goal. 

"I organize this event, I manage it, and I will be responsible for it. And I am 90% sure that I will do it. This is my work and my profession. I conducted my first large game back in 1988 — with three ministries of then-Soviet Latvia. I know how to do this," says the methodologist.

Games that don't always "work out"

Uladzimir Matskevich last conducted a large organizational-activity game in 2013. It was international: the German and Polish Foreign Ministries acted as customers, and the German Bertelsmann Foundation was the investor within the framework of the Transformation Thinkers program.

At that time, they tried to work with the theme of transformation — using Belarus as an example, but with the participation of people from different countries. In addition to Belarusians, representatives from Syria, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, and experts from Poland and Germany participated in the game.

The idea was ambitious: to work out how transformations generally occur in countries where there are no ready-made scenarios. But Matskevich himself admits — the result was far from unambiguous.

The game was conducted in three languages with simultaneous translation, which significantly complicated the process. A political context was also added: everything took place in Ukraine on the eve of the events that led to the Maidan and Russia's subsequent aggression.

According to Matskevich, the scenario of such a development of events was discussed within the game — but some participants, including German experts, did not take it seriously. As a result, it was not even possible to formalize a joint final document.

"In a sense, it didn't work out," he says. And adds that after this, he effectively stopped conducting large games.

Later, smaller formats were conducted — so-called "lite games." According to him, they could be useful for local tasks but did not yield a strategic result.

One example is a game at the beginning of 2020 after the "Fresh Wind" campaign, which opposed integration "roadmaps" with Russia. After some of the roadmaps were not signed, many participants considered the task accomplished.

Matskevich, however, proposed using this resource to prepare for the 2020 elections — but, according to him, few people came to the game.

After Matskevich's arrest, similar games were conducted by other people, so he does not evaluate their results.

"The game is already on" 

Matskevich claims that the game process has already begun before the start: there are people who do not want the game to take place, but still strive to participate in it to influence the outcome.

"I have already been working with game technicians for a month, and there's another week of offline preparation outside the city ahead. This is a lot of work even before the game begins. And even now there are people who don't want the game to happen. But since they cannot disrupt it, they want to participate to prevent the process from developing in a direction unfavorable to them. In this sense, the game is already on," explains the methodologist.

• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0