October 9, 2024
Stefan Batory Foundation
Warsaw, ul. Sapieżyńska 10A
Jerzy Turowicz Conference Room, 11.00 am – 4.30 pm and online
Winning elections is a task for political parties and their associated politicians, while the outcome of the political competition depends on their ability to win and convince the electorate. However, when the fate of democracy itself and its underpinning values are at stake, mass social mobilisation is needed to effectively oppose anti-democratic forces. The recent parliamentary elections in Poland (2023) and France (2024) showed that such mobilisation would be impossible without the involvement of civil society and social movements. However, attempts at social mobilisation and the involvement of democratic civil society organisations do not succeed everywhere.
We will be seeking answers to these questions at the conference Society in action. The power of mobilisation and self-organisation, hosted one year after the parliamentary elections of October 15, 2023. This meeting will not aim to summarise the first months of the October 15 Coalition’s rule, nor will it seek to account for the eight years in power of the United Right. Instead, we will look at the evolution and development of civil society in Poland in recent years, its transformation in response to attacks on the institutions of a democratic state under the rule of law, attempts to change the political system by extra-constitutional methods, violations of human rights and attempts to subordinate the spheres of culture, education and science to ideological control by parties in power.
Based on the results of quantitative and qualitative research, we will show how civil society in Poland has transformed, becoming an increasingly strong and autonomous subject of public life. A subject not only capable of opposing anti-democratic practices of the authorities, but also mobilising during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. We will also compare the Polish experience with that of other societies, reflecting on what challenges and tasks civil society faces today at national and European level.
Please register your participation via the form.
The conference will be interpreted into Polish and English as well as into Polish Sign Language.
Avaliable online on Facebook and YouTube
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Session 1, 11.00 am – 12.15 pm
Evolution, development, consolidation. How has civil society in Poland changed between 2015 and 2024?
Moderator: Anna Materska-Sosnowska (Board member, Stefan Batory Foundation)
Speakers:
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Session 2, 12.30 pm – 2 pm
Civil society in the face of populism and the threat of authoritarianism. European experience
Moderator: Edwin Bendyk (Chairman of the Board, Stefan Batory Foundation)
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Session 3, 2.45 pm – 4.30 pm
Challenges and tasks. Civil society after October 15, 2023
Moderator: Ewa Kulik-Bielińska (Director of the Stefan Batory Foundation)
Edwin Bendyk – chairman of the board of the Stefan Batory Foundation. Journalist, writer, columnist of the Polityka weekly. He deals with the subject of civilisation as well as relations between science, technology and politics, economy, culture, social life. Co-founder of the Research Centre on the Future at Collegium Civitas. Member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He runs an online blog called Antimatrix.
Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz – PhD, assistant professor of sociology at UCL Social Research Institute (Department of Education and Society, University College London), research associate in the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at LSE IDEAS and fellow at Visegrad Insight. His current research interests include transnational entrepreneurs working towards civic goals in Ukraine.
Sarah Durieux – activist and organiser involved in the largest civil society initiative related to the 2024 early parliamentary elections in France. Co-director of Multitudes, a European foundation supporting political change-makers working to make politics more inclusive, hopeful and humane. Prior to joining Multitudes, Sarah launched and ran Change.org, an activist platform for 13 million members in France, helping millions of French people change laws, business practices and develop movements that changed the country’s discourse.
Joanna Gzyra-Iskandar – Feminoteka spokesperson, cultural scientist, Polish language expert and feminist. Professionally active in PR and communication (10 years) and NGOs (4 years). As an activist, she works in the areas of combating gender-based violence, access to safe abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Urszula Karaś – researcher at More in Common Poland. She is a graduate of psychology at the University of Warsaw, specialising in social psychology. Her research interests include attitudes towards migrants from different cultural backgrounds, the impact of empathy and moral foundations on attitudes towards minorities, and gender equality.
Kuba Karyś – chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, journalist (member of the Journalism Society), publicist, TV producer and director, filmmaker. A wonderful family, two dogs and two cats as well as the fight for a democratic Poland and building civil society consume all of his quality time. Opposition to breaking the law and the Constitution have become his priority number one. For the past nine years, he has stood up for every call for defending freedom, especially the least audible ones. Because democracy is not given once and for all. And neither is freedom, and the world must constantly be pushed in the right direction – even by a millimetre. Because, in the immortal words of Władysław Bartoszewski, ‘it is worth being decent.’
Elżbieta Korolczuk – PhD, professor at the University of Warsaw, sociologist. She works at Södertörn University in Stockholm and the Centre for American Studies at the University of Warsaw. She researches social movements, civil society, including anti-gender movements. Author of two monographs, five co-authored volumes and more than 60 scientific papers published in journals such as East European Politics and Societies, Social Politics and Signs. Journal of Women in Culture and Society. In 2022, together with Agnieszka Graff, she wrote Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Moment, a book issued at Routledge Publishing which earned them the Bronisław Malinowski Award for outstanding achievement in the social sciences from the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. Korolczuk is also a social activist and commentator.
Agnieszka Kosowicz – founder and president of the Polish Migration Forum Foundation. Initiator of multiple projects on integration of foreigners and intercultural dialogue, including the Migroteka project, which provides a network of Polish libraries with literature on migration, refugees and interculturalism. Author of the monograph Working Together – 15 years of UNHCR in Poland, describing the beginnings of the refugee protection system in Poland. Co-author of numerous publications on foreigners in Poland. For more than six years, she managed the information policy of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Poland. Journalist by profession.
Ewa Kulik-Bielińska – director of the Stefan Batory Foundation, activist of the democratic opposition and the Solidarity movement in the 1970s and 1980s, editor of opposition and trade union magazines, translator of American literature. Since 2000, she has been involved in activities aimed at improving the conditions for the operation of non-governmental organisations, the development of philanthropy and civic activity in Poland and Europe. Initiator of social actions and campaigns, e.g.: for liberalisation of the law on public collections, the law on foundations and associations, elimination of barriers to the operation of non-governmental organisations, establishment of the EU instrument for supporting non-governmental organisations working for the promotion of rights and values (CERV), participation of non-governmental organisations in programming and monitoring EU funds and development of public policies. Author of articles, statements and opinions on the state of civil society and philanthropy, condition and legal, financial and practical conditions for the functioning of civic organisations. Winner of the 2018 Paweł Włodkowic Award for standing up for fundamental values, the 2019 Pericles Award for her work on freedom and democracy, and the 2023 Henryk Wujec Civic Award for her support for human rights activists.
Rasťo Kužel – a media and elections expert with over 25 years of international experience, who runs MEMO 98, a media monitoring organisation with extensive experience in providing analysis and technical assistance to election stakeholders. Rasťo has worked as an analyst, consultant and trainer, participating in numerous election observation missions and projects. His interests also include disinformation and the role of social media during elections. Co-author of Elections in Digital Times, a practical guide on the Internet, social media and artificial intelligence published by UNESCO.
Georgie Laming – director of campaigns and communications at HOPE not hate where she managed the successful campaigns to remove Andrew Tate from the platform and to expose the racist activities of British media mogul Paul Marshall on social media, as well as led election efforts to prevent the far right from being elected. Prior to joining HOPE not hate, Georgie campaigned for women’s rights and increased access to housing with various UK charities.
Dominika Lasota – activist, co-founder of the EAST initiative and member of the global climate movement Fridays For Future. She fights for a fair transformation of the Polish economy so that no one has to fear either the end of the world or the end of the month. Co-creator of Women Are Enough of Being Quiet, the most influential campaign promoting voter turnout, which influenced hundreds of thousands of additional female voters in the recent parliamentary elections.
Paweł Marczewski – PhD, sociologist, historian of ideas, publicist. Head of the Citizens section in the Stefan Batory Foundation’s ideaForum. He deals with social movements and organisations as well as social justice.
Anna Materska-Sosnowska – board member of the Stefan Batory Foundation, political scientist. Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Systems at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw.
Kacper Nowicki – founder and CEO of the Varia Posnania Foundation. Formerly chairman of the Youth Council of the City of Poznań, co-author of dozens of local policies and legal changes in the field of education and social participation. He promotes the rule of law and equality in schools and communities.
Małgorzata Szuleka – lawyer, graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw. She has worked at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights since 2010. She coordinates activities in the field of monitoring legislation, international advocacy and research, among others in cooperation with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. In particular, she monitors the state of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the situation of civil society in Poland and other Central European countries. Author of numerous HFHR reports and analyses.
Statement of civil society organisations on the takeover of the office of the Ombudsman by the parliamentary majority
As representatives of civil society organisations, we object to the hostile takeover of the office of Ombudsman by the ruling parliamentary majority. We do not accept the de facto settlement of our rights and freedoms by Julia Przyłębska’s politically dependent tribunal, the disregard of the fundamental principles of fair trial, including the independence and impartiality of judges, in its work.
The view taken yesterday by the tribunal is yet another example of the appropriation of the state by the party in power, the undermining of the foundations of democracy and the circumvention of the provisions of the Constitution in accordance with the principle: “when I am dead the deluge may come for aught I care”.
The provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland do not preclude the continuation of the Ombudsman’s mission until a successor has been elected. On the contrary, the values enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution and its constitutional principles, such as continuity in the functioning of public authorities, civic trust in the state, as well as the concern that the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens should not be breached, require that this office be held independently by a person who has previously been granted a democratic mandate until a successor is elected.
The opposite standard adopted by Julia Przyłębska’s tribunal means that we are all losing our protector. The people who will be most affected by this change are those for whom the Office of the Ombudsman has been the main refuge and advocate of their rights in recent years. Therefore, the people who will be most affected by this change are those who are at risk of exclusion for various reasons: people from smaller towns, the elderly, people with disabilities, people in crisis of homelessness, people belonging to minorities, especially sexual minorities, and people in detention centres. The Ombudsman’s Office received more than 72,000 requests for protection in individual cases in 2020 alone. In the light of recent events, Poland will also lose an important centre for speaking up for women’s rights.
As a civic society, we are also losing an important centre for social debate, a place where forgotten or ignored problems are raised, and where new ideas and solutions are forged. It is one of the last areas where people with different views could meet and respectfully seek common solutions to the problems they encounter.
The tribunal’s decision also poses a direct threat to several hundred people working in the Ombudsman’s Office. There is a risk of purges, an attack on their independence and behaviour, which is known from other institutions taken over in a similar way. We stand together in these difficult times with everyone working in the Ombudsman’s Office. We would like to thank them all, as well as the outgoing Ombudsman, for their hard work in upholding human rights in Poland.
We simultaneously demand that the election of a new Ombudsman takes place in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. We consider any attempt to bypass the Sejm and the Senate when appointing an acting Ombudsman to be a circumvention of the provisions of the Constitution.
We ask the international community to monitor the actions of the ruling parliamentary majority in this regard.
List of signatures of the organisations:
Akcja Demokracja [Democracy Campaign]
The Wiktor Osiatyński Archive
Fundacja Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej OKO [OKO Centre for Civic Control Foundation]
Centre for Social Initiatives in Gliwice
Social Initiatives Development Centre CRIS
Roman Czernecki Educational Foundation
Federation for Women and Family Planning
The Donors Forum in Poland
Forum Unia Młodych [Youth Union Forum]
Fundacja “Przestrzeń dla Edukacji” [Space for Education Foundation]
360! Foundation
Fundacja Aktywności Lokalnej [Local Activity Foundation]
Autonomy Foundation
Fundacja Bęc Zmiana [Bęc Zmiana Foundation]
Bronisław Geremek Foundation
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre 50+ Foundation
Chustka Foundation
Silent Rainbow Foundation
ClientEarth Prawnicy dla Ziemi Foundation
Foundation for Poland
Goodwill Foundation
Fundacja Domu Baudouina [Baudouin Foundation]
The “Iustitia” Foundation for Legal Education
Ecological Foundation “Green Action”
Civil Development Forum (FOR Foundation)
Responsible Business Forum Foundation
Frank Bold Foundation
Fundacja Głuchych Zacisze [Zacisze Foundation for the Deaf]
The Stefan Batory Foundation
Jagoda Foundation
Liberal Culture Foundation
Znak Foundation for Christian Culture
Liberte! Foundation
Fundacja Machina Zmian [Machine of Change Foundation]
Lubartów Civic City Foundation
Mundus Cantat Foundation
WE Patients Foundation
Foundation for Pupils’ Rights
STER Foundation for Equality and Emancipation
Fundacja na rzecz Wolnomyślicieli [Foundation for Free Thinkers]
Fundacja Najpierw Mieszkanie Polska [First Flat Poland Foundation]
Fundacja Nowe Centrum [New Centre Foundation]
KARTA Centre Foundation
Panoptykon Foundation
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Foundation
Patria Foundation
Full of Life Foundation
Fundacja Pole Dialogu [Area of Dialogue Foundation]
Auxilium Foundation for People with Disabilities, Children and Youth
Fundacja Pomorskie Centrum Psychotraumatologii [Pomeranian Psychotraumatology Centre Foundation]
Przemijanie Foundation
Res Publica Foundation
Childbirth with Dignity Foundation
Rokoko Foundation
Independence of the Kitchen Foundation
Heart of the City Foundation
Shipyard Foundation
School with Class Foundation
Trzeci.org Foundation
Foundation Towards Dialogue
Faith and Rainbow Foundation
Freedom from Religion Foundation
WWF Poland Foundation
Snow Mountain Community Fund
Greenpeace Poland
Ponton Group
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Inicjatywa obywatelska “Chcemy całego życia!” [“We want a full life” Civic Initiative]
Institute of Public Affairs
Janów Association for Assistance HUMANUS
Kalisz Urban Initiative
Campaign Against Homophobia
Committee for the Defence of Democracy
Cracow Institute of Criminal Law Foundation
Stanisław Brzozowski Association Political Critique
International Institute of Civil Society
Mussszelka
Citizens of Culture
Wielkopolska Branch of Foster Parenthood Association
National Federation of Polish NGOs
All-Poland Women’s Strike
“Open Republic” Association against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia
Robert Schuman Foundation
Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business
Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society, Żyrardów Branch
Consultative Council to the All-Poland Women’s Strike
Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland
Siedlce Association of Helping People with Alzheimer’s Disease
Amnesty International
Spring without Barriers Association
Stowarzyszenie Cała Naprzód [Full Steam Ahead Association]
Stowarzyszenie Dialog Społeczny [Social Dialogue Association]
Homo Faber Association
The Professor Zbigniew Hołda Association
Association for Legal Intervention
Klon/Jawor Association
Women in Film Association
Better World Association
Association of Young Scientists
Tolerado Society for LGBT People
Our Imaginarium Association
NOMADA Association for Multicultural Society Integration
Stowarzyszenie Oświata Polska [Polish Education Association]
Stowarzyszenie Plac Solidarności [Solidarity Square Association]
Stowarzyszenie RAZEM DLA KONARZEWA [TOGETHER FOR KONARZEW Association]
Association for the Development of the Kaliska Municipality
Śmiałowice Village Development Association
Stowarzyszenie SZERSZE HORYZONTY [Wider Horizons Association]
Stowarzyszenie TAK Trójmiejska Akcja Kobieca [Tricity Women’s Campaign Association]
Tarnowska Rospuda Association
Multicultural Kraków Association
Stowarzyszenie Wspólne Wójtowo [Common Wójtowo Association]
Zachodniopomorskie Smaki Association
Stowarzyszenie Zielone Dzieci [Green Children Association]
The Świętokrzyskie Centre for Social and Cultural Initiatives
Towarzystwo Dziennikarskie [Journalists’ Society]
Zalewska Land Lovers Society
Towarzystwo Muzyczne Ziemi Proszowickiej [Musical Society of the Proszowice Land]
Great Coalition for Equality and Choice
Free Courts
Czulent Jewish Association
The Open Society Institute – Sofia Foundation (OSIS) with the support of Open Society Foundations (OSFs) and in cooperation with the Open Society European Network (OSEN), consisting of civil society organizations in Central and Eastern Europe, launches a call for proposals by civil society organisations seeking to support the inclusion of so far marginalized and excluded groups and communities to address climate justice issues in the countries of Central Eastern Europe.
The climate justice perspective links human rights, social justice, and general principles of equality with the transformation of our economies to ensure environmental sustainability. There is a growing need for an inclusive discussion about a fair distribution of the burdens and benefits of climate adaptation. To date, citizens of Central and Eastern Europe have largely missed out on and risk being left behind in these conversations, despite being significantly affected by future decisions and policies. Furthermore, the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis will bring about unpredictable consequences and will likely create tensions between job preservation and climate change policies.
The eligible countries include Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The eligible applicants should meet each of the listed conditions: registered civil society organisations or non-formal groups represented by a registered civil society organisation; not-for-profit organizations, driven by open society values such as democracy, equality and climate justice; non-partisan organizations; based in the eligible countries.
The call for proposals prioritizes projects led by local, grassroots climate justice activists and local CSOs with activities taking place outside of capital cities, while not excluding capital-based organizations and groups.
The supported projects will receive grants up to $25,000 and their duration should not be longer than 12 months. The application deadline is 15 September 2020.
For more information about the requirements, submission guidelines and other relevant information, please refer to the text of the call for proposals and the application templates: here.
