A symposium is being held in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), to mark the 75^th birthday of Professor Arnold McMillin.

The event is generously supported by the Modern Humanities Research Association, the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain, the Anglo-Belarusian Society, the Belarusian Catholic Mission and the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London.

The Symposium will be held on Friday and Saturday 24-25 June in the Masaryk Room (Senior Common Room), SSEES (16 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW). Both sessions will probably start at 10am, but this will be confirmed later. The Saturday session will conclude in time for participants to make their way to the Kupalle celebration at the Belarusian House, 52 Penn Road, London N7.

On Thursday 23 June there will be a concert (starting at 6pm, location to be announced) and reception (7.15pm, Masaryk Room, SSEES).

There will be four participants from Belarus: Andrej Chadanovič (poet, chairman of Belarusian PEN), Hanna Kiślicyna (Academy of Sciences, literary critic), Viktar Marcinovič (novelist, journalist, art historian specialising in Chagall), Uladzimir Niakliajeŭ (novelist, poet, candidate in the 2010 presidential elections).

The Professor of Belarusian Studies at the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Siarhiej Kavalioŭ (playwright), and Professor Zina Gimpelevich of the University of Waterloo, Canada (specialist on Vasiĺ Bykaŭ) will also participate.

Participants from the UK will cover areas ranging from Polish literature to Russian cinema, literature and music, as well as Belarusian studies. A full programme will be available soon.

Attendance at all the events related to the Symposium is free of charge, BUT for catering purposes and – for the Saturday session – for UCL Security, it is essential to know how many people will be attending.

Please complete the symposium attendance form and return it to jimdingley@gmail.com.