The purpose of this webinar is to bring together voices from Central and Eastern Europe on the need for welfare and human rights for all instead of warfare and armament in a time of global social and environmental crisis. Speakers address the issue from the perspective while seeking to contribute to a common discussion on convergence of the issues, struggles and constructive solutions across borders. Welfare is seen as an issue were rural and urban economies are equally important as bases for wealth creation and equal distribution of social rights. So are gender and ethnic equal rights challenging misogyni and racism in a world with unequal economic relationships and historic legacy of colonialism and in its new forms.
The webinar is a regional part of the World Social Assembly of Struggles and Resistances (WSA) activity towards World Social Forum in Benin 4-8 August 2026. https://fsm2026benin.org
It is inspired by the Helsinki Final Act from 1975 and its three layered program for indivisible security, economic and environmental cooperation and human rights including such specific demands as equal rights for migrant workers and minority rights. WSA together with the International Peace Bureau, World Beyond War, the Belarusian organization Our House based in Vilnius, the Network Peace and Climate Justice and others cooperated in the framework of Helsinki+50 People’s Initiative to reawakening the Helsinki Spirit today calling for detente, a European Peace conference, disarmament to enable solutions to social and environmental concerns and work for human rights without double standards.
You can read more about WSA and WSF in this nesletter here: https://worldsocialassembly.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WSA-News-spring-2026.pdf and about Helsinki+50 People’s Initiative here: https://helsinkiplus50.org
PS2 was established in the spring of 2010 at a conference in Prague titled Stop Right wing Extremism and Populism in a Time of Social and Ecological Crisis with some 100 participants mainly from CEE countries. It came out of the need to strengthen CEE participation in the social forum processes both in Europe and the world. PS2 has been working since then consistently via Zoom meetings, mostly every second week initiated actions and when resources has been available organized CEE meetings.
Zoomlink to the event will be provided when you register at this place (the time is UTC+2 18-20):
Human Rights and Welfare not Warfare – Central and Eastern European Webinar
Speakers
Belarus: Olga Karach, Our House
Ukraine: Ihor Romanchuk, Post Soviet Left
Hungary: Vera Zalka, Attac Hungary, GWUAN and PS2
Romania: Enikö Vincze, housing activist, Socialist Vision
Ukraine: Yurii Sheliazyhenko, pacifist and consciousness objector
Armenia: Aram Amirbekian, journalist, peace activist
Russia: Mikhail Lobanov, Radical Democracy
Moderator: György Droppa, environmentalist, Hungary
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https://www.facebook.com/events/1011248318510647/
helsinkiplus50.org 
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