Points of connection: Media Camp holds solidarity action for imprisoned journalist colleagues

Around 30 Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists gath­ered near Vil­nius for the Points of Con­nec­tion Media Camp, where they not only dis­cussed press­ing issues and gained new skills, but also remem­bered col­leagues who remain behind bars.

Media Camp 2026. Pho­to: BAJ

Around 30 media pro­fes­sion­als came togeth­er at the Media Camp near Vil­nius to take a break from their dai­ly work, dis­cuss cur­rent chal­lenges fac­ing inde­pen­dent jour­nal­ism, and explore how media out­lets can oper­ate and grow in exile.

One of the key parts of the gath­er­ing was a sol­i­dar­i­ty action in sup­port of Belaru­sian jour­nal­ists and media work­ers who are behind bars. Camp par­tic­i­pants remem­bered their impris­oned col­leagues and cre­at­ed col­lages and post­cards for them.

The cre­ative work­shop was led by a well-known Belaru­sian pho­tog­ra­ph­er. Par­tic­i­pants worked with pho­tographs, images, and oth­er mate­ri­als, turn­ing the post­cards into per­son­al mes­sages of sup­port for peo­ple who are cur­rent­ly deprived of their free­dom.

The post­cards can­not yet be mailed direct­ly to their intend­ed recip­i­ents. Orga­niz­ers are there­fore con­sid­er­ing turn­ing them into an exhi­bi­tion — to pub­licly show that those behind bars are not just names on lists, but real peo­ple, col­leagues, and friends who are remem­bered.

BAJ calls on col­leagues around the world to join the sol­i­dar­i­ty action! You can print out por­traits of impris­oned col­leagues, take pho­tos with them at rec­og­niz­able loca­tions in your city (out­side Belarus), and post them on social media using the hash­tags #СвабодуЖурналістам and #BecauseThe­Jour­nal­ist. You can also send your pho­tos to office@baj.media or intercomm@baj.media.