At the ICC on public and cultural diplomacy

On March 4-6, 2020, the MFA's Public and Cultural Diplomacy Council was held at the International Cultural Centre. This is an annual meeting of the directors of Polish Institutes and MFA employees to discuss priorities in public and cultural diplomacy. It is also a great opportunity to exchange experiences with national institutions and partners in the field of cultural and scientific promotion abroad.

Each meeting takes place in a different Polish city. This year, diplomats are visiting Kraków, and the event itself takes place at the International Cultural Centre, a national cultural institution implementing the mission of public diplomacy. The official opening was conducted by Łukasz Lutostański, Director of the Department of Public and Cultural Diplomacy and prof. Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of the City of Krakow.

Speeches by Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, director of the ICC and prof. Jacek Purchla, the founder and director of the Centre for many years, has allowed to outline a wide spectrum of activities of the institution, which has been working for nearly 30 years to strengthen Poland's position as an active participant in the international debate on culture and heritage, as well as an animator of cultural cooperation in Central Europe.

An example of such activity is the Treasures of Krakow exhibition, which presents over a thousand years of history of the city, which was prepared by the ICC in cooperation with the City of Krakow. The possibility of presenting the exhibition in any space and language was offered to foreign cultural institutions, including Polish Institutes. The premiere of the English-language version of the exhibition took place in June 2019 and was already presented at the Polish Institutes in Sofia and Leipzig, and will soon visit Bucharest and Baku.

Diplomats stayed in Krakow until March 6. During this time they had the opportunity to learn about the city's cultural and educational potential. They visited the Princes Czartoryski Museum and meet with Robert Piaskowski, Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow for Culture.