Conference “Polish Eastern Policy 2015”

The object of this annual conference is to summarize the Polish Eastern Policy and provide recommendations for the next year.

The conference “Polish Eastern Policy 2015” was held between the 8th and 10th of October, 2015 in Wrocław. Th partner of the conference, The Centre, organized a debate: “Russian politics of memory - how should Poland respond to it?” with the participation of: Director of the Centre Sławomir Dębski, Andrzej Grajewski, Hieronim Grala and Łukasz Adamski.

The debate was moderated by Director Debski, who opened the meeting by asking a question: what should we avoid in the politics of memory?  Łukasz Adamski raised the issue of the Russian historical propaganda spread due to the need of legitimation of President Vladimir Putin authority. He also mentioned psychological defence mechanisms which, in the case of Russians, hinder them from dropping historical beliefs rooted in the national culture. According to Adamski, Poland should pursue active politics of memory which could allow to influence the Russian authorities, a Russian community of historians and the whole public opinion. The next speaker was Hieronim Grala. He underlined the fact that Poland is obliged to stay vigilant when it comes to matters connected with such historical events as: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, The Katyn massacre or the Warsaw Uprising. Andrzj Grajewski also stressed the fact that Russian politics of memory is built by information provided by authorities as well as by Russian society, for example by comments on the Internet. The speaker underlined the need of cooperation of Poland with other countries in terms of responding to the Russian propaganda. He also recommended to support those who share Polish point of view.

 Phot. The Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe

Programme of the Conference Polish Eastern Policy 2015.pdf

The conference was organized by The Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe together with:

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Wrocław City
• The European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk
• Polish History Museum
• Marshall Office of the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship
• The PZU Foundation
• The Heinrich Böll Foundation
• The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation
• The Institute of National Remembrance
• The Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding
• The Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
• The Centre for East European Studies of the University of Warsaw
• The Ossolineum in Wrocław

The media patronage over the conference was taken by:

• Polish Radio
• Dziennik. Gazeta Prawna
• Nowa Europa Wschodnia
• New Eastern Europe
• Polish Press Agency (PAP)
• TVN24 i TVN24 Biznes i świat