Przemyśl college for Polish communities

“You are Poles, and our mission is to strengthen Polishness in the East, to take care of our culture, tradition and language,” assured Prof. Dr. Hab. Jan Draus in his first words addressed to representatives of Polish communities – participants of the “Forum of Cooperation of the State Academy of Applied Sciences in Przemyśl with Polish organizations operating abroad”, which took place on 5-6 June this year within the walls of the Przemyśl university.

PANS in Przemyśl was visited by several dozen people from Polish schools, societies, and associations operating in Ukraine, including those from Odessa, Kiev, Lviv, Stryj, and Ternopil.

– assured the Rector of PANS, Prof. Marek Delong, explaining at the same time that “the location of the university, close to the border with Ukraine, somehow obliges it to take such actions.”

- he said.

The ambitious task of strengthening cooperation was inaugurated with a discussion on the needs of Polish communities, experiences related to the implementation of international projects, and the challenges facing the Polish community and Poles living in the East, especially in this difficult time of war.

This is not the first initiative of this kind by the university. Suffice it to mention the many editions of the "International Summer School of Polish Culture and Language", "Forum of Leaders of Polish Social Organizations from Abroad", "Congress of Polish Education in the East", "Congress of Polish Education in Ukraine", organized or co-organized by PANS.

The forum was attended by university authorities, deans and directors, as well as representatives of communities and institutions that are involved in the affairs of Polish national minorities, including Dr. Hab. Stanisław Stępień – director of the South-Eastern Scientific Institute, Zbigniew Hamielc – deputy director of the Przemyśl branch of the Podkarpackie Teacher Education Center, and the mayor’s plenipotentiary for non-governmental organizations, Robert Gawlik.

The substantive part of the two-day conference was complemented by cultural and tourist-tourist events, as the forum participants had the opportunity to watch a theatre play performed by the "Fredreum" theatre on the occasion of the inauguration of the "Przemyśl Juwenalia 2025" and visit the nooks and crannies of Przemyśl.

Ewelina Kasperska