About 350 representatives of Polish communities from more than 40 countries are participating in the 6th Congress of Poles from Abroad, held in Warsaw and Pultusk from June 29 to July 2. The World Polonia Council and the „Polish Community” Association are event organizers.
On Friday, June 30, Congress participants met with Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda. The President thanked the North American Polish community, in particular, for their support in the process of Poland’s admission to NATO so the country could feel safer in the face of the war in Ukraine. Andrzej Duda thanked the Polish delegates for their commitment to Poland. „Thank you for supporting us daily, defending Poland’s good name, carrying out those actions in your countries to defend Poland’s good name, and reacting. This has changed a lot in the international space,” noted the President, who assumed honorary patronage of the congress.
The congress began on Thursday, June 29, at the Polish Sejm. Government Plenipotentiary for Polonia and Poles Abroad Jan Dziedziczak recalled how much has changed since the convention in 2018. The pandemic and the war in Ukraine determined the last years. „Let’s talk about the scale of Polish aid, how the Polish people behaved, the fact that even though Poland faced the largest wave of refugees of any country in the world after World War II, the Poles passed the test,” Minister Dziedziczak said. „There were no refugee camps in Poland; Poles took in this million-strong crowd of fleeing women and children in their private homes,” he added.
„Polishness is a treasure; it has meaning. It has a mission and task to fulfill among the world’s nations and humanity,” emphasized Bishop Piotr Turzynsk, the Polish Bishops’ Conference Delegate for the Pastoral Care for Poles Abroad, during the inauguration. „Poland cares about the Polish community, may it care as much as possible, but Polonia also has a mission in Poland and worldwide,” he assessed.
Participants of the 6th World Congress of Poles from Abroad at the House of Polonia in Pultusk take part in deliberations devoted to four primary issues:
- Polish organizations abroad;
- Culture, education, pastoral care – the guarantor of Polish identity;
- Polish youth – commitment, and patriotism;
- Sports, tourism, entrepreneurship.
The congress program includes a meeting with the Presidential Couple, the Prime Minister, and representatives of the Polish government, a concert by the State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble „Mazowsze” and a Mass for the intention of the homeland, laying of wreaths and paying tribute to prominent representatives of the Polish state and Church.
At the end of the 6th World Congress, a final report on the program and organization will be presented, along with adopted documents containing future recommendations.
Polish conventions are an opportunity to discuss the most pressing problems of Poles living outside their homeland, to identify specific directions for development, and to include Polonia in the discussion of the shape and future of Poland. This year’s congress is set in the context of the war in Ukraine, so it is a remarkable expression of the unity of Poles at home and abroad in the face of a common threat.
Polonia conventions are associated with Poland’s pro-immigration policy and the establishment of the Cultural Welfare Council in 1922. The first meeting of Polonia was on July 14-18, 1929, in Warsaw. Ninety-eight delegates from 18 countries attended it. After 1989, the organization of the conventions was entrusted to the „Polish Community” Association.
Photo Credit: Pastoral Care for Poles Abroad
For additional information about the congress, including a detailed program, broadcasts, and photos, please visit wspolnotapolska.org.pl or the organizers’ social media.