It aims to support the development of the participants’ leadership skills, as well as to provide the right tools and inspiration for further activities. As for the other equally important aspects of the program, it’s worth mentioning the following: strengthening of the participants’ ties with Poland, developing civic attitudes and reinforcing the national identity so that the participants act more effectively and consciously in their local communities within the country of their residence. So that they can become the ambassadors of the Polish identity in the world.
Under the 5th edition of the project a multitude of events will take place:
School for Leaders of the Polish Community Abroad in Western Europe, in which active representatives of the Polish communities in the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland will take part.
Leadership Training in New York for young leaders of the polish societies in the USA, mostly young professionals and student activists.
Local Government Training in Ireland, aimed at people active at the local government level and active citizenship of Poles in Ireland.
Training for Leaders of Polish Professionals’ Associations, aimed at representatives of local organizations gathering young polish professionals.
Reunion of Alumni of the School for Leaders of Polish Community Abroad, which will gather most active Alumni of all five editions of the project from all over the world.
The program of each School is being developed with a selected group of participants in mind, so that it meets their needs in the broadest scope possible. The workshop cycles, which usually last for a few days, are not only aimed to develop the leadership competences and skills related to public appearances or debates, but they also broaden the participants’ knowledge in the area of project management. They motivate, inspire, make it possible for the leaders to discover their strong points and indicate the directions for their further development. The workshops are prepared and run by experienced coaches from the Coach Team of the School for Leaders Association. In the evenings the lectures about the history, the culture and the current social and economic situation of Poland are held. The program also involves numerous meetings with politicians, public administration officials, representatives of the world of culture, young leaders and public activists. The study visits give the participants an opportunity to visit places and cultural monuments related to the ancient and contemporary history of Poland. Moreover, the plan of each visit concerns a particular issue related to the program of the school. It is introduced to the participants during the meetings with the representatives of public and cultural institutions, the NGO activists, the representatives of the world of business and the young Poles who are active socially. At the School the participants are divided into groups and there are assistants who take care of each group. Their tasks involve holding discussions about the program, finding solutions for current problems, as well as providing support and inspiration to discussion during everyday meetings. Each edition of the School has its own coordinators who supervise the flow of the project.
SLP is also a wide network of its almost 300 Alumni, living in 30 countries on 5 continents. The aim of the Alumni Program is to reinforce the results obtained during the subsequent editions of the SLP and the development of the network of cooperation based on the social capital which was built while the project was carried out.
The project is being funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Media patronage over 2013’s edition is held by Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy, TVP Polonia and Link to Poland.
Detailed information can be found on the organizer’s website. The summary of the project activities in years 2009-2012 can be found in 2012’s brochure. The latest news about the project and life of the polish community are being published on SLP’s fanpage on Facebook.
About the organizer:
School for Leaders was founded in 1994 by Oxford University professor Zbigniew Pełczyński. Its aim is to train public activists and support the development and mobilization of local communities, promote international cooperation, provide civic education for young people and adults, as well as shape leader attitudes. Since 1994, we have trained about 3,000 activists representing various types of organizations. Our former alumni are active in the European and Polish parliaments, Polish national and local government, as well as lead hundreds of NGOs and local initiatives around the world.