Annual Report 2007
About the Foundation
The Stefan Batory Foundation, established in 1988 by George Soros, an American financier and philanthropist, and a group of Polish opposition leaders of 1980s, is an independent, private foundation registered as public charity under Polish law. The mission of the Batory Foundation is to build an open, democratic society — a society of people aware of their rights and responsibilities, who are actively involved in the life of their local community, country and international society.
Our priorities include:
- Enhancing citizens’ public engagement and fostering the role of civil organizations
We support initiatives that encourage citizens to participate in public life, and create a forum for public debates on important domestic and international problems. We advocate favorable environment for the third sector and work towards institutional strengthening and financial sustainability of independent non-governmental organizations. We assist local organizations working to enhance access to education for disabled children and young people form impoverished communities.
- Promoting the rule of law and transparency in public life
We support activities designed to provide the citizens with access to information and justice, as well as to protect individuals’ rights against government abuse. We assist organizations working against intolerance and discrimination. We disseminate legal expertise and methods of exercising scrutiny over public institutions, and advocate systems to control corruption.
- Developing international cooperation and solidarity
We assist our neighbors in the East in the democratization process, and facilitate experience sharing in the areas of political and social transformation. We implement projects aimed at building strong neighborly relations with the East and the West, contribute to the dialogue on the future of common Europe and advocate a greater role of civic initiatives in international relations and in the advancement of democratic principles and respect for human rights.
The basic method of the Foundation’s operation involves making grants to non-governmental organizations engaged in public benefit activity in Poland and in Central and Eastern Europe. We also initiate and carry out – alone or in partnership with other organizations – various undertakings: we host public debates and conferences; organize study visits, seminars and workshops; issue publications; run social campaigns; engage in advocacy and monitoring of public institutions.
The Foundation is a partner to many institutions from Poland and abroad. It is a member of Polish Donors Forum, Polish NGO Abroad, European Foundation Centre in Brussels and Council on Foundations in the U.S.
In our activity we observe principles of transparency and accountability. Decisions on grant distribution are made by the Foundation’s Board with the help of committees of experts who assess grant applications and recommend projects for funding. Our finances are audited by external experts and the financial statements are published in the Annual Report, together with the list of grants awarded and projects implemented during the year. Up-to-date information on our activities and grant-seeking opportunities is posted on our website www.batory.org.pl.
In 2007, we ran 14 domestic and international programs, the majority of which continued prior activities. We made over 350 grants for a total amount of PLN 9.9 million. We spent PLN 3.6 million on in-house operated projects implemented by ourselves or in cooperation with partners.
A series of our activities focused on the problem of lack of public trust toward Polish democratic institutions and meager civic participation in public life, as evidenced by low electoral turnout and the popular conviction that an average citizen has no influence over authorities' actions.
We continued our Your Vote, Your Choice program planned for 2006-2010 (i.e. the entire term of local government officials elected in 2006) with an aim to increase public interest in local issues and activities of authorities. In 2007, the project involved 226 organizations and informal groups in 150 counties. They organized debates on local issues with the participation of residents and local authorities and checked how local governments were keeping their electoral promises. Together with the 21pazdziernika.pl coalition, which gathered 150 organizations throughout Poland, we ran a 'get out the vote' campaign before the parliamentary elections. Post-election research showed the campaign encouraged 20% of the voters (ca 3.3 million people) to go to the polls. As a result, voter turnout was nearly 54%, the highest in parliamentary elections since 1989.
We continued to support initiatives aimed to exert civic control over public institutions by providing grants for non-governmental organizations to monitor access to public information, use of public funds, and execution of statutory tasks by local government and public administration [Watchdog Initiatives]. As part of the Anti-Corruption program, we monitored observance by authorities and political parties of anticorruption laws and transparency standards, monitored the legislative process and suggested legislative solutions that could ensure transparency of decision-making processes and provide a bulwark against corrupt practices. We devoted a series of meetings as part of the Batory Foundation Debates to discussion on the condition of the Polish state and democracy, as well as issues that evoked extreme polemics and disputes, such as the vetting law and the vision of the state and society as part of the Law and Justice party’s concept of building IV Polish Republic. Our institutional grants, designated for organizations’ core activity, capacity building and institutional development, were provided mainly to organizations that work to enhance civic participation in public sphere and promote good practices and transparency in public institutions. Grant recipients included experienced organizations with numerous achievements as well as new organizations only beginning their activities [Civic Institutions]. Another important sphere of our activities concerned tolerance and fostering attitudes of openness toward racial, ethnic, and religious differences. We supported educational and cultural projects that recover and discover the roots of a multinational Poland and preserve a common multicultural heritage, especially that of Polish Jews. Most projects supported this year focused on discovering the past of local communities and filling in the historical 'blank gaps'. While learning about forgotten or muted facts, projects’ participants had to face the history of Holocaust and – what was most difficult – the history of Polish anti-Semitism. Xenophobia and anti-Semitism continue to be significant Polish problems. At the same time, however, there is an increased interest in the different and a growing awareness that cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity is an important value [For Tolerance]. Our new program, launched in 2007 at the initiative of the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation from Germany, served the discovery of a common multicultural heritage. We supported international volunteer camps where young people learned about various aspects of history and culture of transborder regions, as well as gained knowledge and practical skills in protecting cultural heritage objects. 214 volunteers from Poland, Germany, Austria, Belarus, Lithuania, the Kaliningrad District, and Ukraine took part in 12 summer camps held chiefly in Poland, but also in Ukraine and the Kaliningrad District. The young volunteers cleaned up or renovated cemeteries and shrines of various denominations, as well as other historic monuments. In the effect they inventoried, documented, cleaned up or renovated several dozens historic places that testify to the Central Europe's multicultural heritage [Memoria]. We continued our support for the network of Citizens Advice Bureaus where about 30,000 people annually receive free legal advice and information as well as to organizations that provide legal aid to at-risk or discriminated groups [Legal Education]. The generosity of individual and business donors allowed us to continue assistance for local organizations that provide scholarships for young people from small towns and rural areas and ran integration programs for disabled children. Thanks to these donations, 1,300 high school students receive scholarships in the 2007/2008 school year and 1,100 children participate in art therapy and integration programs [Equal Opportunities]. In the area of international cooperation, we continued advocacy efforts aimed to ease the restrictive EU visa policies and raise the standards of service for foreigners at the European Union's eastern border. In light of the prospect of Poland acceding to the Schengen zone (which occurred in December 2007), we turned decision-makers’ attention to the progress of Poland's preparations, as well as the effects Schengen membership may have on contacts with our eastern neighbors. Moreover, we took part in the debate on the European Neighborhood Policy and the discourse on changes occurring in Russia and their impact on Russian foreign policy, including Russia's use of energy resources as an instrument of international policy [International Cooperation]. In partnership with the Bosch Foundation we supported tripartite cooperation of Poland and Germany with Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia serving to reinforce solidarity and neighborly relations, and to resolve problems faced by states of our region [Community Initiatives Partnership]. With the funds provided by the Ford Foundation we supported a network of Russian and Ukrainian organizations engaged in stimulating and funding local civic initiatives, developing partnership between non-governmental organizations and private and public institutions and implementing civic and European education projects [Citizens in Action]. We continued two regional programs, operating within the Open Society Institute network in the region of Central-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus: the EastEast program which supports international cooperation for democratic transformation, civil society development and promotion of innovative solutions to social ills, as well as the Alcohol and Drug program that disseminates Polish experiences in dependency therapy and prevention as well as in re-education of perpetrators of domestic violence.
Council
Chair of the Council
Members
- Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
President of the Bank PEKAO, Prime Minister (1990)
- Bogdan Borusewicz
Speaker of the Senate
- Wojciech Fibak
businessman
- Prof. Bronisław Geremek
Deputy to the European Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000)
- Prof. Leszek Kołakowski
All Souls College, University of Oxford
- Prof. Marcin Król
Dean of the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Social Reintegration, Warsaw University
- Olga Krzyżanowska
physician
- Prof. Krzysztof Michalski
Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna
- Andrzej Olechowski
Vice Chair of Supervisory Board of the City Handlowy Bank, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993-1995)
- Prof. Zbigniew Pełczyński
Pembroke College, University of Oxford
- Bp Prof. Tadeusz Pieronek
Polish Bishops Conference
- Prof. Andrzej Rapaczyński
School of Law, Columbia University
- Prof. Hanna Suchocka
Ambassador of Poland to the Holy See, Prime Minister (1992-1993) (on leave)
- Prof. Stanisław Wellisz
School of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University
Board
President of the Board
- Aleksander Smolar
political scientist, Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
Members
- Klaus Bachmann
historian, political scientist, Institute of Political Sciences at Warsaw School of Social Psychology
- Nathalie Bolgert
financial consultant, Polish-American Community Assistance Fund (PAFPIO)
- Mirosława Grabowska
social scientist, Warsaw University
- Prof. Jacek Kochanowicz
historian of economy, Warsaw University
- Jarosław Kurski
Deputy Editor in Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza daily
- Prof. Andrzej Rychard
social scientist, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Prof. Andrzej Ziabicki
chemist, Polish Academy of Sciences
Investment Committee
- Nathalie Bolgert
member of the Board of the Batory Foundation
- Włodzimierz Grudziński
Vice Chair of Supervisory Board of Bank BISE
- Janusz Jankowiak
Chief Economist of Polish Business Roundtable
- Stefan Kawalec
financial expert
- Krzysztof Stupnicki
President of the Board of AIG Investment Fund
Program Committees
Beata Pawlak Award
- Urszula Doroszewska
President of East Democratic Society
- Wojciech Jagielski
journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza daily
- Maria Kruczkowska
journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza daily
- Antoni Rogala
representative of the family of the Founder
- Olga Stanisławska
independent journalist
- Adam Szostkiewicz
journalist at Polityka weekly
- Wojciech Tochman
journalist, writer
- Joanna Załuska
Stefan Batory Foundation
- Wojciech Załuska
journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza daily
Your Vote, Your Choice
- Piotr Frączak
Civil Society Development Foundation
- Rafał Krzemiński
School of Leaders Association
- Bohdan Skrzypczak
Local Activity Support Centre
- Paulina Tymoszczuk
School of Leaders Association
Equal Opportunities – Rainbow Academy
- Radosław Jasiński
Program Director, Polish-American Freedom Foundation
- Wojciech Kamiński
President of Agora Foundation
- Jarosław Kurski
Board member of Stefan Batory Foundation
- Ewa Suchcicka
President of More Loved Association of Parents and Protectors of People with Down Syndrome
For Tolerance
- Marta Białek
Board member of ę Society of Creative Initiatives
- Helena Datner
social scientist, Jewish Historical Institute
- Maria Ofierska
social scientist and editor
- Robert Szuchta
teacher of history, author of program for teaching Holocaust at schools
Watchdog Initiatives
- Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć
President of Association of Leaders of Local Civic Groups
- Marcin Radwan-Röhrenschef Ph.D.
Wardyński & Partners law firm
- Agata Wacławik-Wejman
Board member of National Depository for Securities
Legal Education
- Łukasz Bojarski
Helsinski Foundation for Human Rights
- Ewa Siedlecka
journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza daily
- Mirosław Starzyński
Warsaw–Wola district office
- Filip Wejman
Director of American Law School at Jagiellonian University
Memoria
- Miłosz Czerniejewski
One World Association
- Corinna Jentzsch
Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation, Germany
- Darius Polok
MitOst Association, Germany
- Janusz Smaza Ph.D
Academy of Fine Arts
Community Initiatives Partnership
- Julia Bardoun
Director of NGO Agency in Support of Cultural Initiatives Tranzit, Kaliningrad District, Russia
- Łukasz Byrski
Bilateral Project of Royal Netherlands Embassy, expert on Belarus
- Agata Gajewska-Dyszkiewicz
Stefan Batory Foundation
- Barosz Głuszak
Elbląg Association to Support of Non-Governmental Initiatives, expert on Kaliningrad District
- Wilfried Jilge
Center of History and Culture of Eastern Europe in Leipzig, Germany, expert on Ukraine
- Joanna Konieczna
Institute of Sociology at Warsaw University, expert on Ukraine
- Carsten Lenk
Robert Bosch Foundation, Germany
- Stephan Malerius
Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany, expert on Belarus
- Sviatoslav Pavluk
Director, PAUCI Foundation, Ukraine
- Gudrun Schmidt-Kärner
Specialist on relations with Kaliningrad District at Schleswig-Holstein Parliament, Germany
East East
- Olga Iwaniak
Institute for Eastern Studies, expert on Ukraine and Belarus
- Paweł Jessa
University of Szczecin, expert on Central Asia countries
- Marek Pędziwół
journalist, expert on Vysehrad countries
- Jadwiga Rogoża
Institute for Eastern Studies, expert on Russia and Baltic countries
- Wojciech Stanisławski
Centre for Eastern Studies, expert on Balkan countries
Anti-Corruption
- Ewa Balcerowicz
President of Center for Social and Economic Research
- Janusz Durlik
Deputy Director of Public Opinion Research Center
- Krzysztof Jasiecki Ph.D.
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Prof. Lena Kolarska-Bobińska
Director of Institute of Public Affairs Foundation
- Paweł Łukasiak
President of Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland
- Jacek Strzemieczny
President of Center for Citizenship Education
- Andrzej Szeniawski
Secretary of Olsztyn Province
- Mirosław Warowicki
President of URSA Consulting
- Prof. Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński
Chair of Scientific Council of Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Jakub Wygnański
Board member of Forum on Non-Governmental Initiatives
Staff
Executive Director
Information and Development
- Ewa Kulik-Bielińska, Director
- Anna Czajkowska (till March)
Secretary’s Office
- Anna Musialik
- Joanna Sieniawska (till February)
- Marzena Zera (from March)
Accountancy and Finances
- Alina Muzińska, Director
- Krystyna Grzeszkiewicz (till March)
- Joanna Maliszewska (from February till October)
- Danuta Mingin
- Elżbieta Muras (from November)
Administration
- Grażyna Rutkowska, Director
- Karolina Płatek
- Andrzej Wydrych
- Tomasz Ostrowski, computer specialist
Programs
Batory Foundation Debates
Your Vote, Your Choice
- Joanna Załuska
- Marek Solon-Lipiński (from October)
Equal Opportunities
- Sylwia Maksim-Wójcicka (till August)
- Alina Wasilewska
For Tolerance
Watchdog Initiatives and Legal Education
- Grzegorz Wiaderek
- Monika Szulecka (from October)
Anti-Corruption
- Grażyna Kopińska, Director
- Grażyna Czubek
- Adam Sawicki
- Anna Wojciechowska-Nowak
Community Initiatives Partnership and Memoria
- Agata Gajewska-Dyszkiewicz (from May)
- Barłomiej Ostrowski (till April)
- Michał Pachocki (from October)
East East
- Sylwia Sobiepan
- Justyna Blinowska
Citizens in Action
- Agnieszka Komorowska
- Piotr Krygiel
International Cooperation
- Grzegorz Gromadzki, Director
- Wojciech Konończuk (till April)
- Anna Kozłowska (from June)
- Anita Szymborska
- Olga Wasilewska (from June)
- Wojciech Tworkowski (from March)
Regional Alcohol and Drug Program
- Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska, Director
- Małgorzata Prejzner
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