Poland in South Africa

On 28 January 2023, Poland will mark the 450th anniversary of adopting the Warsaw Confederation by the Convocation Sejm in 1573.

The Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre, in cooperation with UNIC Pretoria and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation commemorated the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 26, 2023. This year's memorial ceremonies were held under the theme "Home and Belonging".

22 January marks the 160th anniversary of the January Uprising. This was the largest armed struggle for independence of the peoples of the former Commonwealth against Russian rule. The Uprising had a unique symbol, a tripartite coat of arms depicting the Polish Eagle, the Lithuanian Pahonia, and the Ruthenian Archangel Michael.

One hundred sixty years ago, in September 1863, during the January Uprising, the Russians demolished the Zamoyski Palace in Warsaw, throwing the piano once played by Fryderyk Chopin out of the building’s window. The moment made history.

The National Institute of Music and Dance is organizing the third edition of the International Polish Music Competition, which will take place on July 2-9, 2023 at the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic in Rzeszów Applications from pianists and chamber ensembles worldwide can be submitted until February 15, 2023. Participation in the contest is a chance to gain international prominence for emerging musicians. The prize pool in the third edition of the Competition will amount to euros 100,000.

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria organized a gala concert on December 8, 2022 performed by the outstanding South African artist Loyiso Bala and the rising opera star Simamkele Neli. The concert was intended to celebrate and commemorate 3 decades of fruitful diplomatic relations between Poland and South Africa, as well as to celebrate the Foreign Service Day.

On December 3, 2022, the pupils of the Polish School in Pretoria were visited by Santa Claus, who gave the children small Christmas gifts. Due to the fact that these were the last school classes in 2022, the meeting was an opportunity to celebrate the past year and share plans for the new year. Consul Michał Gierwatowski extended his best New Year's and Christmas wishes to all those present.

The first political consultations between Poland and Namibia took place in Windhoek on December 2, 2022. The consultations were conducted by the Undersecretary of State for Development Cooperation, Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Paweł Jabłoński, and the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of Namibia, Ms. Jenelly Matundu.

Another round of political consultations between Poland and South Africa took place on December 1, 2022 in Pretoria. The consultations were conducted by the Undersecretary of State for Development Cooperation, Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Paweł Jabłoński, and the Deputy Minister in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Mr. Alvin Botes.

The 9th edition of the South Africa Poland Heritage Conference was held on 27 November 2022 in Johannesburg. The event was organized by the Polish Association of Siberian Deportees in South Africa in cooperation with the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria and the Embassy of Ukraine in Pretoria.