Solidarity Summer School in Gdansk

In July 2009 (19-24) Tertio Millenio Foundation and European Solidarity Center organised for the 5th time the Solidarity Summer School in Poland, Gdansk. The so-called Solidarity Academy is a cyclical project. The first edition took place in Gdansk in 2005. As the organisers point out: "The implementation of the idea of international solidarity is necessary, because being able to face the challenges of modernity requires an international approach. What is the international approach?... We think that it has a special meaning for the countries of the former Eastern block that have a common history and similar experience of communism. The cooperation between these countries can bring us a new quality of international coexistence and, in effect, a new quality of human life."

Since 2005 the school has concentrated on promoting solidarity and democracy. This year, for the first time, a separate working group was created under the topic: "Development education. Solidarity within the international context." The course was designed by the facilitator Monika Matus as a comprehensive, interactive introduction into the topic and all its aspects. Participants were introduced to the theoretical and practical basics of development education. This helped them to find the answer to the question about the reasonableness of international solidarity. Most of the seventy young participants came from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries – as it is one of the principles of the Solidarity Academy from the very beginning.

For more information and next editions, please visit: http://www.akademiasolidarnosci.pl/
For further details, please contact: Monika Matus monika.matus@gmail.com or Tomasz Pilat tomashpilat@gmail.com

Photo/Copyright: Slawomir Czalej

Information provided by Monika Matus, trainer and facilitator