As a response to the workshop “Designing the Parallel Society”, held by Frihetsförmedlingen in Minsk in June 2019, Elisabeth Kovtiak has written an article describing the thoughts and ideas of the participating group and the founding of the new Ministry of Uncertainty in Belarus.
“The Ministry of Uncertainty is an alternative organization that replicates some technical characteristics of ministries. It will have a website, official agenda and visual identity just as any ministry. Why those? Basically, that is with what citizens can encounter once they are interested in a ministry’s activities. The real activities of ministries in Belarus are quite opaque: hidden behind the bureaucracy. Unlike the ‘real’ ministries, the Ministry of Uncertainty initiates and fosters public discussions that do not aim to come up with a certain solution. This alternative institution is both a criticism of the passivity of a bloated bureaucratic system and the unwillingness of public authorities to take responsibilities. Another function of the Ministry of Uncertainty is to create a meeting place for the citizens where they can discuss the facade stability and an uncertainty and anxiety that exist behind it.“
Participants in the workshop and creators of the Ministry of Uncertainty:
Alina Dzeravianka, Elisabeth Kovtiak, Christin Wahlström Eriksson and Sophia Sadovskaya. The workshop was led by John Huntington and myself as part of the STATUS Project.
Logo design: Valentine Duduk
