Polish Institutes
The goal of public diplomacy is to communicate with the societies of other countries. One of its best tools is broadly understood culture, which presents an interesting narrative about a country and its tradition, past, and present. Culture as a communication tool helps societies learn about and understand one another. The Polish Institutes play a special role as Poland’s ambassadors building bilateral relations and shaping the image of our country abroad.
The Polish Institutes form a network of 25 branches reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Their activities reflect the priorities of Poland’s foreign policy, of which public and cultural diplomacy is an integral part.
The mission of the Polish Institutes is to reach out to the broadest possible audiences of artists, experts and opinion-formers worldwide in order to build good, close contacts with their representatives, thus creating a positive image of Poland abroad. The Polish Institutes promote Poland and its culture, history, science, language and national heritage in such a way that the audiences from other cultural backgrounds can better understand the Polish cultural code. They support bilateral cultural exchange and make sure that Polish culture is present in the social life of respective countries. The task of the Polish Institutes is also to establish lasting contacts between Polish and foreign partners active in the sphere of international cultural exchange, e.g. within the framework of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture). In addition, they ensure the implementation of international obligations arising from Poland’s cultural agreements and programmes with other countries.
The Polish Institutes cooperate with the state institutions and recognised NGOs of respective countries. This cooperation includes the organisation of cultural events (concerts, film screenings, theatrical performances, exhibitions), educational and informational activities (children’s programmes, dissemination of knowledge about Poland), academic events (seminars, lectures, conferences), and promotional events (Poland’s participation in book, education and design fairs). In their activities, the Institutes promote the Polish language and Poland’s research achievements in various fields as well as supporting the staff and students of Polish, Slavic, and Central European studies at foreign universities.
The effective shaping of Poland’s positive image abroad also requires a joint effort from a number of ministries and institutions. This is why the Polish Institutes worldwide cooperate on a regular basis with such Polish cultural institutions as, for instance, the Polish Book Institute, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Institute of Music and Dance, and the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning.