Matskevich gathers politicians for a methodological "game". Babaryka is coming, Tsikhanouskaya — not yet. What's happening and how much does it cost?

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 and formulate a common vision for how the Belarusian emigration should live and act going forward.

He calls this format an organizational-activity game.

We spoke with Matskevich and found out what this "game" is, who will participate, 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 work with game technicians and methodologists. The main task is not to smooth over contradictions, but rather to identify them and make them the subject of work.

"The main principle is to gather a collective of participants in one place who model a problematic situation. So that everyone whom 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.

During the game, all contradictions and conflicts are brought out. They are not hidden under the covers, 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 the search for understanding with those without whom your own goals remain unattainable. The method is labor-intensive and quite expensive," the methodologist notes.

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 between different political and public structures regarding these goals and methods of action. There is no consolidation of efforts. This is visible in almost all spheres — both 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 already confirmed their participation.

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

Viktar Babaryka confirmed his participation in the game. The presence of representatives of the Kalinouski Regiment is declared, and Franak Viačorka's participation is expected. Siarhei Tsikhanouski's arrival from the USA is also likely. There is also talk of possible participation of representatives of initiatives such as "Bysol" and "Cyber Partisans".

(After the publication, the Kalinouski Regiment stated that officially no one from their side is participating. — NN)

"People are still deciding: they need to free up a week, consider health, documents, work. But there will be representation from all political structures," 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 invited among the first, and the dates were even adjusted to her schedule.

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

Matskevich talks about the fateful importance of his game.

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

One of the elements of the game is the clash of different strategies. For example, according to Matskevich, Viktar Babaryka is 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 collectives will clash. And everyone will understand that their strategy is partial and unrealistic without today's opponents," he explains.

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

At the same time, some participants are not disclosed for security reasons, which does not allow a full 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. We offer some to come at their own expense," says Matskevich.

The cost of the question

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 stated outcome is a common strategy for the Belarusian diaspora. Uladzimir Matskevich argues that without the inclusion of a wide range of participants, any strategy will remain "just paper".

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

I am often told: 'Why? We already have strategies — Azarau's, the Office's, others'.' But I reply: these are strategies of individual structures. Why should everyone else implement what was decided by someone in a narrow circle? A strategy works only when those who will implement it participate in its development themselves," 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 these changes and accelerate them.

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 am organizing this event, I am managing it, and I will be responsible for it. And I am 90% sure that I will do it. This is my job and my profession. I conducted the first major 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 conducted his last major organizational-activity game back in 2013. It was international: the customers were the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Germany and Poland, and the investor was the German Bertelsmann Foundation as part of the Transformation Thinkers program.

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

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. The political context also added to it: everything happened in Ukraine on the eve of events that led to the Maidan and the subsequent aggression of Russia.

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 some sense, it didn't work out," he says. And adds that after this, he practically stopped holding big games.

Later, smaller formats were held — so-called "game-lights". These, according to him, could be useful for local tasks, but did not yield a strategic result.

One example is a game in early 2020 after the "Fresh Wind" campaign, which opposed integration "roadmaps" with Russia. After some of the maps 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 now begun even 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 been working with game technicians for a month now, and there's another week of offline preparation outside the city ahead. This is a lot of work even before the game starts. 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.

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