Deputy Minister Artur Harazim launches 2nd Kościuszko Forum
02.06.2026
MFA Undersecretary of State Artur Harazim opened the 2nd Kościuszko Forum. The event took place at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk on June 2. During the event, medals of merit were awarded to Ales Bialiatski, human rights activist, former political prisoner, and Nobel laureate, as well as to former President Lech Wałęsa, Solidarity leader and a fellow Nobel laureate.
The event was attended by members of the MFA leadership, representatives of the City of Gdańsk, and members of Belarusian democratic forces, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of Belarusian democratic opposition, who joined via video link.
Culture is not a supplement to politics, but a foundation without which the democratic edifice cannot hold. Without identity, democracy is merely an empty form that can easily be filled with populism tailored to the needs of authoritarianism
said Deputy Foreign Minister Artur Harazim.
Conference participants discussed the theme “Culture as a force of democracy,” with Belarusian culture in the focus of attention. Panels brought together representatives of creative communities, non-governmental organisations, independent media, and research institutions.
See the event’s full programme here: https://ecs.gda.pl/wydarzenia/forum-kosciuszkowskie-kultura-sila-demokracji/
Photo: Grzegorz Mehring / Archiwum ECS