On 17 January 2025 WUB-hub, Prof. Korosteleva and Dr Hansbury, were invited to welcome a new cohort of Belarusian-in-exile John Smith Trust Fellows, a UK government initiative, hosted by Baroness Suttie, House of Lords. Discussion focused on the issues of the forthcoming non-election in Belarus, political prisoners, and Belarusian refugees; and various initiatives to support the democratic course of Belarus.

In partnership with NATO PDD, and Stockholm Centre for East European Studies (SCEEUS), WUB-hub organised a high-level European Belarus Forum on 13 December 2025 at the Mission of Belarus Democratic Forces, in Brussels, as part of the Belarus week. The event was attended by Belarusian experts, and representatives of NATO, EU institutions, Swedish diplomats and Belarusian democratic forces. Major challenges and opportunities for Belarus 2025 were discussed, as well as the support for capacity-building of intellectual and social capital within the country. The event was preceded by a book pre-launch of 'The Unbroken Generation: Youth Voices of Belarus 2020', to be released in January 2025, by Skaryna Press, with the support of WUB-hub Research England funds.

Professor Korosteleva and Dr Hansbury attended a high-level conference in Brussels, as part of a week-long activities organised by the EU institutions on Belarus in Brussels. The conference opened with speeches from Robert Metsola, President of the European Parliament, and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic forces. The conference discussed pathways forward for a democratic future of Belarus, and measures to address the continued violations of human rights and a rising number of political prisoners in the country.

Dr Aijan Sharshenova, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window Research Fellow, discussed the launch of a reportLink opens in a new window on harnessing the democratising potential of the EU foreign policy agenda with one of the report's authors Dr Nathan Vandeputte.

MORDORLink opens in a new window is an Erasmus+ project, co-funded by the European Union focusing on improving general education on authoritarianism and to prepare recommendations for EU foreign policy stakeholders regarding democracy support.

Dr. Aijan SharshenovaLink opens in a new window, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window Research Fellow, chaired a session on smart cities, inclusion and quality of urban life at the Digital ForumLink opens in a new window organised by the University of Central AsiaLink opens in a new window in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, on November 14th, 2024.