To integrate and educate
Applications for the first edition of the programme can be submitted until 20th February 2014. The main aim of the voluntary service is the integration of Polish and Canadian peers. Participants will give free lessons in English every day at three Cracow Community Centres. Thanks to co-operation with the Municipality of Cracow, they will have an opportunity to teach at: The C. K. Norwid Culture Centre, Culture Centre “Podgórze” and Cracow-Nowa Huta Cultural Centre. Iwona Malinowska, president of Polish-Canadian Education Centre, said: “Thanks to our programme we can connect two most important aims: integration and education. Through teaching English we will help Cracow teenagers to learn the language and at the same time teach them mutual support. This is a great opportunity to make new friends and to get to know Polish culture better.”
In the footsteps of great Poles
Participants will give lessons every day for about two hours, and in their spare time they will go sightseeing in Cracow and surrounding towns such as Wieliczka, Oświęcim and Zakopane. The purpose of the Summer with English is to show profoundly how rich Polish culture is, and that is why PCEC prepared the authorial programme of the tour. The plan is divided into four parts. First is the Royal Route. During the walking tour in Cracow people will visit, among other places, Wawel Cathedral, St. Mary’s Basilica and the Barbican, during which they will hear a story about the medieval town. The World Heritage of Lesser Poland is the second part of the plan. Here, our volunteers will start a very important, historical journey – they will see the places which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. They will explore the history of World Word II ( Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp), visit the Main Square of Cracow and start an amazing tour of the ‘Wieliczka’ Salt Mine where they will stay for a night, 125m underground.
Another part of the tour is learning the history of Karol Wojtyła and many other compatriots who were connected with Cracow and The Jagiellonian University. In Nowa Huta they will learn about Stalin’s plan to build the first town without God. Teenagers will also have an opportunity to get to know the multicultural dimension of Cracow. During the visit in Kazimierz district of Cracow they will see how disparate Poland is. Moreover, they may take part in one of the biggest festivals – the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, which takes place annually in Kazimierz. This is an amazing opportunity to have fun with people from all over the world. During the voluntary service there will also be time for fun , for example in the Garden of Experiences and Water Park.
We create bonds and give a chance
Grzegorz Jopkiewicz, the Consul of Polonia in Toronto, says that Summer with English is a worthy initiative which will allow us to create bonds between the peers from both countries.
He added: “I am sure that ‘Summer with English’ will be helpful for young Polish people , and Cracow teenagers will get a perfect opportunity to improve English language skills with a Canadian accent. Spending time together in Cracow is priceless. As a high school student I used to be a part of language camps organised by UNESCO in Opole and Zakopane, and I can say one thing: it was the best educational vacation of my life. At the Consulate in Toronto we had no doubts about the legitimacy of the programme created by the PCEC. It is a worthy initiative in which we are involved.”
Sarah Rice from Missisauga considers voluntary service a unique chance for uniting youths by learning a foreign language.
“I am very excited about the fact that the PCEC gives us an opportunity to spend the summer vacation in Cracow. I am glad that I will have a chance to teach others my native language. This initiative will help our peers to feel more confident when they can speak English better. It’s a perfect programme, which helps others to take advantage of our knowledge , but also helps us to learn about the country of our parents,” Sarah concluded.
Cracow waits
As the voluntary service is about teaching others the English language young people will have been prepared for it . Volunteers will attend a teaching course , learn methods of teaching English as a foreign language, and be equipped with adequate materials. The voluntary service will last for two weeks from 5 to 19 July 2014. Organisers reiterate the fact that it is important to sign up quickly to the programme because many people are willing to take part in it. Summer with English is organised thanks to co-operation with Municipality of Cracow and the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Toronto, under the patronage of : President of the Cracow City Council –Bogusław Kosmider, the newspaper Dziennik Polonii Kanadyjskiej, Link to Poland, and the portal Magiczny Kraków.
Young people aged 16-22 , who are distinguished by a sterling reputation and achievements in various areas can apply for the programme. What is more, they should be interested in the world and be ready for new experiences. The programme is a unique chance for getting to know Polish peers and a valuable way of spending the summer vacation. It surely will be a special lesson in history and culture.
More information: Polish-Canadian Education Centre
Canada: Iwona Malinowski- 905-379-4625 / imalinowski@p-cec.org
Poland: Natalia Łabuz – 723-728-582 / nlabuz@polishcanadianeducationcentre.org
The Programme “Summer with English” is held under the Link to Poland media patronage.