As the deputy minister underscored, “the aim of this scheme is to work with NGOs and Polish diaspora organizations to implement priorities that help unite the Polish diaspora and Poles from across the globe around Poland.”
In this year’s edition, the MFA will spend PLN 31.7 million to co-fund 144 projects. In 2015, the ministry will also provide PLN 21.3 million to support the follow-up of 11 two-year module programmes which were selected in last year’s call for proposals. This year, the MFA has also transferred PLN 9.5 million to the Ministry of National Education to provide teachers with methodological help and organize educational camps.
In 2015, there will be support for Polish education in Germany, the United States and countries that attract economic migrants. Beneficiaries will also include Polish community media outlets in Latvia, Russia, countries of the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Western Europe, and the United States. The foreign ministry will co-fund renovations of schools and Polish Centres, as well as conservation of Polish cultural heritage abroad, mainly in the East. Grants have been awarded to sports and cultural undertakings: film and theatre festivals in North America, regular Polish diaspora events held in Poland, and research and archival work done all around the world. The scheme will also pay for scholarships, help fund Polish language courses, and co-finance Polish studies and Polish language departments.
Deputy Minister Konrad Pawlik said that the experience gained in the past years has helped improve the rules of financing the Polish diaspora media, among other things. “The scope of financing of the Polish community media in the East has increased, both under module projects and this year’s call for proposals; over 80 percent of funds are headed eastwards,” underlined the deputy chief of Polish diplomacy.
The foreign ministry will allocate more than PLN 21 million to module projects this year. They support, among other things, the development of Polish education in Ukraine, Lithuania, the UK and Ireland. Their aim is to ensure stable funding in areas of strategic importance for the Polish diaspora. Director Joanna Kozińska-Frybes, who chaired the jury, highlighted the significance of implementing module projects. “They enable a sustained and substantial financing of projects over the course of two years. They also make it possible for one partner’s operations to cover the territory of a specific country,” said Director Kozińska-Frybes.
At the conference on Thursday, Deputy Minister Konrad Pawlik also noted the engagement of Polish diplomatic missions, which provide the Polish diaspora and Poles abroad with on-the-ground support. “Each year, Poland’s foreign service posts put in place over 2,000 projects. In 2014, they carried out 2,300 projects worth close on PLN 21 million. They purchased services and materials while working with and on behalf of Polish community organizations and Polish schools abroad,” added the deputy minister.
Source: Press Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland
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