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The community Zabej

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The community Zabej
Сообщество Забей
LeaderMr.Zabej
FoundedJune 17, 2006 (2006-06-17)
HeadquartersMinsk, Belarus
IdeologySocial sphere
Experimental projects
Social progressivism
SloganLook! Think! Act!
Website
www.zabej.info

The community Zabej (possible modifications are Zabej!, Zabej, «Zabej!» and ZABEJ), also known as Zabej-group and Zabej-community, is an independent youth movement that was founded in the Republic of Belarus in the middle of 2006 as an alternative (non-state and non-commercial) platform for civil and political activists.

Origins

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In 2005, the civil initiative "Chas" ceased functioning and, in the summer of 2006, the members of the Chas movement reassembled under the new name "«Zabej!»"; nearly all of the original membership continued under the new community formation. The launch of «Zabej!» was marked with a yard football tournament; this was later followed by a magazine named Zabej!Info and a number of projects: "Poshuk", "Hapun", "Kinobunker" and "We - to children".[1][2]

Yard football tournament, Vilejka, 2009

Nomenclature

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According to the community's participants, the name reflects the degree of civil and political activity of young people in Belarus. "Zabit" is a slang word that means to "brush aside", "to shut one's eyes", “to stop thinking about an issue” or "to neglect everything, when everything has already been neglected"—the name represents the ironic attitude of the participants to a societal indifference that they perceive. It is possible to "zabit” on something that is old, senile and cannot be repaired; however, it is also possible to "zabit" a significant historical event.[3]

Purpose and principles

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The community's main aim is the creation of new rules, new values and the realisation of a new type of society, while a significant goal is the formation of a new country. The community's tasks involve the destruction of an old societal structure that is perceived as incapable and defined by a clan nature and favouritism, in addition to facilitating a new type of social and political development.

Zabej has retained the main principles of Chas: activity, solidarity, criticality, alternative culture, persistence and direct action. Religion is not influential in the community, and Zabej endeavours to appraise itself and others by actions.

Zabej's banner

Slogans

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  • "Zabej at all!": this slogan reflects a condition of a modern Belarusian society, whereby the passivity of social surroundings is mocked—especially in relation to the response of the country youth to events.
  • "DIY! Football! Order!" (or, "DIY!Football! Self-organization!"): the slogan expresses the positive actions of the community that aim to create a new societal order through activity, such as independent publication, football and film viewings.
  • "Look! Think! Act!": the slogan of "Kinobunker" reflects an active approach to the viewing of video material, such as films and reports.
  • "We will return football to the streets!": emphasises the importance of the "streets" (public space) to the community, where it is possible to participate simply in a free form of football that is without bureaucratic and financial barriers.

The principal areas of activity

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Football

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Zabej \passionaries tournament 2010

Yard football[4] (17 June 2006 is considered to be a birthday of the community)[5]—in 2007, the location of the tournament remains the same as previous years, but the quantity of teams increases. In 2008, the tournament extends into the country's regional areas, and selections take place in Grodno and Gomel.[6]

The typical participants of the Zabej yard tournament are young people, from 16 to 23 years of age.[3] Information about the tournament is available from publicly displayed posters, a website and social networks. The tournament's games are held over one to two days and 100 to 150 teams participate during the season; nearly 1500 matches are typically played.[7]

In 2007, a female yard football tournament commenced[8][9] and a yard tournament was held in eight Belarus cities in 2009.[10]

Zabej Passionaries’ Tournament 2010

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In 2010, the community's tournament was renamed the "Passionaries’ Tournament" and was held in four cities of Belarus—the name originates from the concept of "passionarity" (the theory of Soviet historian, ethnologist and anthropologist Lev Gumilev). The main aim of the event is "active leisure", and the message that is conveyed to each participant is that any history consists of heroes and their acts. Each round of the tournament was devoted to historical characters, such as Konstanty Kalinowski, Grandfather Talash, Emilia Plater, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Konstanty Ostrogski and Vitovt. Thus, an intellectual component is incorporated into yard football, and connection is made between sport and history.[11] The Zabej Passionaries’ Tournament of 2011 covered eight cities of the Republic: Minsk,[12] Mogilev,[13] Bobruisk,[14] Baranovichi,[15] Borisov,[16] Molodechno,[15] Brest,[17] Vitebsk.[3][18][19][20]

Neformals' tournament

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In 2010, a new yard football project was started: the "Tournament of Neformals". The purpose of the new project was to popularise street football and informal movements through an integration of various independent bodies, amateur championships, tournaments and leagues into a one-day competition. To achieve its purpose, the project brought together ten teams from five various Minsk championships.[21] In 2011, the number of teams increased to 29 and these were taken from ten tournaments located in 12 regions of the country. The tournament also provides an opportunity for organisers and amateur teams to socialise, as well as to share the experiences gained from the organisation of local actions. The tournament is not influenced by any age restrictions or capital investments, and aims to reveal the basic needs of participants and the issue of informal sport in Belarus.[22] Since inception, the community not only organises the tournament, but also participates in other open sporting events.[23][24][25]

The Cover of 11th issue of Zabej!nfo

Magazine

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In mid-2007, Zabej commenced a new direction with its media activity with the launch of the magazine Zabej!Info. The magazine is published bi-monthly in paper, Portable Document Format (PDF), audio and video versions. Initially, the magazine was a source of information for yard tournament participants and also covered other community projects. The range of topics that the magazine covers has extended over time, with the cultural, historical, political and economic matters of Belarus and other countries included. The magazine's target audience is passionate, socially and politically active young people.[26][27]

At the beginning of 2010, 11 editions had been produced, with the twelfth edition of Zabej!Info published in May 2011 (the edition is devoted to the Passionaries' Tournament). Moreover, the magazine provided a forum for Belarus' most significant musical acts.[28]

Cinema-bunker

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In January 2009, the community started to work on another educational community project called "Cinema-bunker". The main goal of the project is the examination of historical and political processes through cinema and media. Between 2009 and 2011, 24 film lectures were delivered on topics that ranged from modern art and social problems, to political and economic organisation in society.[29] The typical structure of a Cinema-bunker lecture consists of an initial report on a problem, followed by a video viewing and then a discussion of the viewing.[30]

Other activity

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Other projects of the community Zabej include "Zine-meeting" (2008),[31] "Cultural Cocktail" (2009) and "Zabej-studio", the latter of which is a constant work-in-progress. Another main direction is the development of local communities.[1]

Zine-meeting

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On 14 September 2008, the community Zabej held its first Zine-meeting; the meeting brought together editors from different magazines, samizdat magazines (zines) and newspapers to discuss problems and ways to develop the local mass media in Belarus.[32][33] The editorial staff of Zabej! Info also actively participates in other actions that are organised by subcultural movements that are also offered wide coverage through the publication.[31][33]

Cultural Cocktail

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The purpose of the Cultural Cocktail project is to create a new understanding of working class and political art. On 3 and 5 of April 2009, the inaugural event “Cultural cocktail: Eduard Limonov vs Slavomir Adamovich" was held and explored the literary creativity and political views of the two authors.[34]

References

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  1. ^ a b Дынько, Аляксандра (28 September 2009). "Сьвятое месца-2: нефармальныя моладзевыя ініцыятывы". svaboda.org (in Belarusian). Радыё Свабода. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  2. ^ Yard football: to learn how to win
  3. ^ a b c "Народный эфир и Неделя глазами читателей TUT.BY". Tut.By (in Russian). ТУТ БАЙ МЕДИА. 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  4. ^ А у нас во дворе.... Почтовый адрес (in Russian). Медиарынок. 1997–2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  5. ^ Марина ШАРУПО (9 June 2006). Уличные чемпионаты. Ва-банкъ (in Russian). Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  6. ^ The tournament of the yard tournament in Grodno Archived August 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Вынікі 2012 году: Андрэй Пачобут – абсалютны чэмпіён грамадзянскай супольнасьці". Асамблея няўрадавых дэмакратычных арганізацыяў Беларусі (in Belarusian and English). 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Аматарскі футбол для дзяўчын крочыць па Мінску!". ERB (in Belarusian and English). Еўрапейскае радыё для Беларусі. 2005–2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Продолжается Минский любительский футбол для девушек". Tut.By. ТУТ БАЙ МЕДИА. 2007. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  10. ^ MrZabej (15 December 2010). Футбольный турнир Забей. Сезон 2009. (Video upload). YouTube (in Russian). Google, Inc. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  11. ^ Football tournament in honour of Belarusian heroes (Belarusian Radio Ratsia, on April 18th 2011 Archived April 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Прошел первый отбор Турнира Пассионариев-2011. Новости (in Russian). Открытый контакт. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  13. ^ "ОТБОРОЧНЫЙ ЭТАП ФУТБОЛЬНОГО ТУРНИРА ПАССИОНАРИЕВ: "МОГИЛЁВ" ЗАХВАТИЛИ "РЕЙНДЖЕРЫ"". 222.by. Информационно-развлекательный блог города Могилёва. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Zabej.info проведет отборочный тур в Бобруйске". Бобруйск: региональный портал. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b Турнир Пассионариев 2011: Эпоха Героев. Resurs.by (in Russian). При использовании материалов Resurs.by. 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Мэдыюм Турніра дваравых футбольных каманд". GeberationBy (in Belarusian and English). Generation.bY. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  17. ^ Турнир Пассионариев-2011: Между физруками и Историей. Виртуальный Брест (in Russian and English). 16 May 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  18. ^ Сяржук Серабро (29 May 2011). В Витебске состоялся отборочный тур футбольного Турнира Пассионариев. Народныя навіны Віцебска / Народные новости Витебска (in Russian). Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  19. ^ Алесь Bezuher (4 October 2010). "Людзі-героі пакаленьня на турніры дваровых камандаў". GenerationBy (in Belarusian). Generation.bY. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Народный эфир и Неделя глазами читателей TUT.BY". Tut.By. «ТУТ БАЙ МЕДИА». 2010. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  21. ^ Neformals will held a football tournament Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Neformals' match[dead link]
  23. ^ The tournament’s favourites of "Malady Front" and "Zabej.info", (Malady Front, mfront.net)
  24. ^ "Футбольны турнір да 25 жніўня". Hawa Hiba (in Belarusian). ПУП «Суродзічы». 25 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  25. ^ "Купальскі Кубак 2011". гадоў можна паглядзець тут (in Belarusian). 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  26. ^ “New Mass Media” as the form of youth rebellion (The Magazine arche.by, on November 13th 2008) Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "Медиафронт. ZABEJ!INFO #7". BUDZMA.ORG (in Belarusian and English). 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  28. ^ "Объявления от Mr.Zabej". UnityFM – Music Without Borders (in Belarusian). Punk.by. 2007–2013. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  29. ^ "Кінабункер". Зводная афіша кінаклубаў Мінска (in Belarusian). 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  30. ^ MrZabej (2 March 2011). "Презентация Кинобункера" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  31. ^ a b БелаПАН (7 September 2008). "У Мінску праходзіць фестываль самвыда". ERB (in Belarusian and English). Еўрапейскае радыё для Беларусі. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  32. ^ Zlot wydawców niezaleznych w Mińsku Archived April 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ a b Samizdats’ makers want to make “a new alternative public platform” (Belarusian journalists’ association, on September 9th 2008) Archived September 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ The first Cultural cocktail finished on the 5th of April (nazbol.ru, on April 14th 2009) Archived April 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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