In Belarus, a restrictive law prohibits groups of three or more people from meeting without government permission. This has made it difficult for citizens to voice their concerns and grievances collectively. However, the Comfortable City website Petitions.by has emerged as an alternative mechanism for collective action.
The website assists citizens in submitting civic appeals on policy ideas, local grievances, and other official issues and concerns to the government. It also provides a forum for public discussion on government performance throughout the country’s six regions. The Comfortable City project serves several functions in the context of the restrictive law. It acts as an alternative mechanism for collective action, monitors the government’s response to collective civic appeals voiced by larger groups of citizens, and aggregates common grievances into campaigns.
The project also conducts advocacy campaigns to strengthen grassroots civic voices and monitor government responses to its petitions. It does so through meet-ups and workshops, involving civic activists in trainings. Participants learn how to effectively engage government officials, work with the media, create and initiate petitions, and raise public awareness through social media and other advocacy approaches.
The Comfortable City project raises public awareness of and support for its campaigns and other actions through traditional and social media coverage. It cultivates its contacts with the press, aiming to place articles or op-eds on the activities of Petitions.by in the media, as well as producing press releases and carrying out online advertising.
Finally, the Comfortable City continues to improve its website’s features to better interface with the public and maintain IT support for Petitions.by. This ensures that citizens can continue to use the website to voice their concerns and grievances and hold the government accountable for its actions.