The meeting was opened by the hosts: the Mayor of Krakow Prof. Jacek Majchrowski, Director of the ICC Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik and Director of the MFA Department of Public and Cultural Policy Łukasz Lutostański.

The conference was attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, who appreciated the work of Polish Institutes and underlined the importance of this year’s priority topics and anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the Solidarity movement, the centenary of St. John Paul II’s birth, 210th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birth accompanied by the 18th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw and the centenary of the Battle of Warsaw. The deputy head of Polish diplomacy also stressed the importance of promoting contemporary Poland as a country of vibrant economic development, a home for active and creative people.

Consultations on public and cultural diplomacy attended by directors of Polish Institutes take place in a different Polish city every year. This is intended to give city and regional authorities an opportunity to present their assets and cooperation possibilities with Polish missions worldwide. Over the past few years, the conferences were held for example in Lodz, Kalisz, Gdynia and Poznan.

The purpose of this year’s conference was to discuss the challenges facing public diplomacy in 2020 and the current communication priorities. This year, the meeting was also attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and numerous institutions of culture including the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, the Centre for the Thought of John Paul II, the Book Institute, the National Museum in Krakow, the Jewish Culture Festival and the Conrad Festival.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo ICC