The conference, attended by international Polish education experts as well as educators from the IPN, underlined the need for continuing the education of millions of Poles who live outside the country’s borders.

Speaking to the gathered attendees, the IPN’s Deputy President Dr Karol Polejowski said:

Educare necesse est – education is a necessity without which we cannot imagine our daily lives. It is our assumption that the Institute of National Remembrance also has this statutory obligation to undertake educational activities – not just in Poland, but also internationally.

The conference was organised by the Republika Polonia World Association in association with the IPN, and aims to identify the challenges ahead for Polish diaspora education, especially with regards to its financing and cooperation with other NGOs across the world.

The IPN’s Dr Karol Polejowski continued:

There are sixty million of us around the globe. It is in our vital interest, the interest of the Polish state, that the national identity of members of younger generations who are growing up outside Poland’s borders is nurtured; lest they forget about their roots or their ancestors.

Panel discussions surrounding the challenges that lie ahead for Polish diaspora education were attended by experts from Poland, Austria, Belgium, the UK, Australia, Canada and the USA.

Speaking at the conference, Undersecretary of State for Diaspora Affairs at the Presidential Chancellery, Agnieszka Jędrzak stated:

As [IPN Deputy President Karol Polejowski] said, there are sixty million Poles – forty million in Poland, twenty million abroad, so it seems to me that politicians should treat the issues surrounding diaspora education and the future of the Polish society living abroad more seriously.