On 9 July 2025, the Central History Point of the IPN in Warsaw hosted a group of students from the Royal Association Olivaint Conference of Belgium, a prestigious Belgian institution dedicated to educating young leaders in the spirit of civic engagement and international dialogue.
The Royal Association Olivaint Conference of Belgium, founded in 1954, is a training center for "governance," i.e. the institutions, rules, processes and behaviors that influence the exercise of power at the local, national and international levels. Its objective is to offer students who wish to do so additional training for future professional responsibilities that reflect a commitment to citizenship. Before traveling to Poland, the group visited Vietnam and Egypt.
During the meeting, representatives of the IPN presented the wide range of the Institute's activities. The guests were welcomed by the Deputy Director of the IPN's Office of International Cooperation, Mateusz Marek, Ph.D., after which Sławomir Bardski presented the mission, tasks, and structure of the Institute, its role in commemorating and researching Poland's 20th century history, and the international projects carried out by the Office. Rafał Michliński from the IPN's Office of Search and Identification familiarized the guests with the unit’s activities, including search, identification, and commemoration of victims of totalitarian repression. Prosecutor Robert Janicki discussed the competences and activities of the Chief Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, including criminal proceedings concerning communist and Nazi crimes. Marcin Majewski from the IPN Archives presented the Institute's archival resources and modern tools for making documents available and conducting research. Finally, Adam Siwek, Director of the Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom, outlined the IPN's activities in the field of decommunization of public space and the commemoration of places of struggle and victims of totalitarian regimes.
The visit was an opportunity to exchange experiences, reflect on our common European heritage, and discuss the challenges of preserving historical memory in the contemporary context. The guests from Belgium actively participated in the meeting, asking questions about memory policy, the Holocaust, and decommunization. Issues related to the independence of historical research and the sensitivity of Poles to 20th century history were of particular interest.
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On 10 July 2025 the IPN Headquarters in Warsaw were visited by Mr Matthias De Moor – the General Representative of the Embassy of Belgium Delegation of Flanders in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and Frederick Claerbout - the Director of the Strategy Coordination and Communications Department of the Flemish Government's Chancellery and Foreign Affairs Department.
The Belgian representatives met with the IPN Deputy President Karol Polejowski, Adam Siwek, the Director of the Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom, Sebastian Pilarski - the Director of the IPN Historical Research Office and Przemysław Janiga and Dorota Lewsza from the IPN’s International Cooperation Office.
The meeting focused on outlining the structure, tasks and activities of the IPN. Among them, international relations, commemoration, publishing activities and cooperation between the Institute and the Belgian government.
Both meetings were organized by the IPN's Office of International Cooperation.