Jan Malicki, director of the Eastern European Studies at the University of Warsaw (UW), and Dr Aleksander Milinkevich, opposition candidate in the presidential elections in Belarus in 2006, signed a letter of intent establishing the “Free Belarusian University”, which will disseminate objective and independent knowledge on topics related to Belarus.

The letter was signed on the occasion of the official inauguration of the Alumni Club of the Konstanty Kalinowski Scholarship Program of the Government of the Republic of Poland. The program was launched on March 30, 2006. It is the largest aid program in Europe for young Belarusians who cannot study in Belarus because of their political views.

During the thirteen years of the program, over 1,000 scholarship holders were admitted to study at 79 universities in Poland. This year, the additional funds will allow new 1,000 students, victims of the repressions after August 9 to study in Poland.