20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is in Germany today to mark the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that symbolizes the collapse of communism throughout Europe, a process in which Poland played a leading role. To mark this historic event, the Atlantic Council hosted the “Freedom’s Challenge: A Gala Banquet and Awards Ceremony” yesterday in Berlin, which was attended by Lech Walesa on behalf of the Polish people.  Secretary Clinton attended the gala as keynote speaker.  View the Secretary’s Travel Diary Blog on visiting Berlin (in English).

Also view the Department of State’s International Information Program’s Publication: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later (in English), which highlights events that led to the collapse of communism in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. 

 “I Will Remember That Day All My Life” by Adam Michnik

Excerpt: “I wrote it was a great holiday: In the perennial struggle between man and barbed wire, today man triumphed and the barbed wire was defeated.”

“Those Were The Days, My Friend” by Anna Husarska

Excerpt: “November 9, 1989, is the date most potently associated with the end of the unjust oppression of half of Europe. But the Wall began to crack back in 1980 when the Polish trade union Solidarity was created at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk…”

Legacy of 1989 Must Be Defended by Janusz Bugajski

Excerpt:  “Although Solidarity was temporarily stifled and driven underground, its mass membership and farsighted leadership demonstrated that the days of Soviet-imposed communism were numbered.”

 

Sprawdź jak dobrze znasz Amerykę! Ogólnopolski konkurs wiedzy o USA.

  

To już siódma edycja konkursu „Know America”!

Zapraszamy  młodzież licealną z całej Polski do sprawdzenia i pogłębienia swojej wiedzy na temat Stanów Zjednoczonych. Do wygrania trzydniowy program w Warszawie i wiele innych nagród.

Jeden ze zwycięzców weźmie udział w Benjamin Franklin Summer Institute, intensywym trzy-, czterotygodniowym programie edukacyjnym w Stanach Zjednoczonych.  W 2008 roku ponad 1000 uczniów szkół średnich wzięło udział w konkursie. Konkurs „Know America” sprawdza wiedzę uczestników z wielu dziedzin amerykańskiej kultury w tym: historii, geografii, sztuki i pop kultury, jak również problemów społecznych, etnicznych i religijnych. Konkurs „Know America” odbywa się w dwóch etapach: pierwszy to egzamin z 80 pytaniami wielokrotnego wyboru, etap drugi to esej.

UWAGA:  Zgłoszenia przyjmowane są tylko do 14 listopada!

 

KosmoShow z udziałem Anne Nelson!

Nowe media na wojnie czy wojna w nowych mediach?  W najbliższy poniedziałek gościem kolejnego KosmoShow będzie Anne Nelson, profesor Uniwersytetu Columbia i była korespondent wojenna New York Timesa.
2. listopada w siedzibie Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego o godz 18:00 będzie można wziąć udział w nagraniu odcinka „(new) media at (new) war” który transmitowany będzie także na żywo w Internecie.  Rozmowa toczyć się będzie wokół tego jak zmienił się sposób dostarczania informacji o wojnach, jaki wpływ ma dziennikarstwo obywatelskie i czy aby na pewno to słuszna droga.  KosmoShow ma charakter interaktywny – publiczność może na bieżąco włączać się do dyskusji – zarówno ta, która przyjdzie do Muzeum jak i ta, która będzie ogladać rozmowę w Internecie.  

Anne Nelson jest  pisarką, autorką sztuk broadwayowskich, w których grali m.in. Bill Murray czy Sigourney Weaver, ale przede wszystkim korespondentką wojenną z Ameryki Południowej i obecnie wykładowcą nowych mediów na Uniwersytecie Columbia.  Nasz gość niezwykle łatwo nawiązuje kontakt z publicznością i chętnie opowiada o swoich niezwykłych doświadczeniach.  Zapowiada się pasjonująca dyskusja – zapraszamy!

2. listopada, poniedziałek, godz. 18:00  Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (ul. Grzybowska 79, wejście od ulicy Przyokopowej)

 

President Obama signs Hate Crimes Bill into Law

On Wednesday, President Obama signed the 2010 defense authorization bill, which included a very important hate crimes provision.  This provision will extend federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. 

“We must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits — not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear,” Obama said at the White House reception.  He hailed the hate crimes measure as a step toward change to “help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray.”

The bill will allow federal authorities to pursue hate-crimes cases when local authorities are either unable or unwilling to do so. 

 

 

Anne Nelson: są jeszcze miejsca na warsztatach teatralnych w Gdańsku!

W czwartek, 29 października warsztaty teatralne “Theater and Trauma” w  Gdańsku poprowadzi między innymi Anne Nelson pisarka, korespondent wojenny, wykładowca na Columbia School of International and Public Affairs i autorka sztuki “The Guys”.   

Zapisy prowadzone są drogą emailową: Aleksandra.Musielak@zdarzenia.com.pl

Szczegółowy program zajęć można znaleźć tutaj. 

Zapraszamy!

 

Anne Nelson in Poland–Programs in Warsaw and Gdansk!

The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw is proud to welcome Anne Nelson to Poland, where she will participate in progams in both Warsaw and Gdansk.  Ms. Nelson, adjunct associate professor, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, writer, war reporter and media scholar will meet the Warsaw public at the Polish premiere reading of her play “The Guys” (Chłopaki) at the Warsaw Theater Academy “Koło” stage on October 27 at 19:00.

The play was translated into Polish by Artur Zapałowski and directed by Jarosław Kilian, staring Małgorzata Lipmann and Dominik Łoś.

“The Guys” first opened in New York  just 12 weeks after the 9/11 attacks with a production starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray, and ran for over a year.  Since then, it has been produced in 48 states and 12 foreign countries and has also been made into an award-winning feature film. 

Anne Nelson will also participate in a seminar and workshops organized by the Young Journalists’ Association “Polis”   www.polis.org.pl on October 26 at Agora Headquarters, ul. Czerska 8/10. To register, please  email : spotkaniapolis@gazeta.pl .
Ms. Nelson will also appear at the  “Theater and Trauma” seminar at Gdansk University  on  October 29, 2009. (more)

To register for the Gdansk event, please e-mail:  Aleksandra.musielak@zdearzenia.com.pl

We hope you will join us for these events.  Serdecznie zapraszamy!

 

Poland Raises Awareness of Trafficking in Persons

On October 18, Poland observed the third annual EU Anti-Trafficking Day with a number of activities designed to raise awareness of this modern-day form of slavery. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Polish government created a televised public service announcement (PSA) designed for high risk target groups. The advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi and MTV Polska donated their services to develop and produce the PSA, titled “Trafficking is a Fact,”which will be broadcast on MTV Polska and local television channels through November (can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LyAfIXIBbU) . In addition, a repeat of last year’s exhibition titled “Trafficking Knows No Borders” will run in Warsaw’s central train station from October 16 – 23. The exhibit, which was jointly funded by the Polish government and the U.S. Embassy, previously was displayed in several major train stations around Poland. A digital version of this exhibit will also air in Warsaw metro train cars from October 15-22, and can be seen at http://www.stophandelludzmi.pl/wystawa/. 

On October 22, The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Administration held its biennial National Conference to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Persons.  Earlier this month, the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs presented Stana Buchowska, Director of the leading anti-trafficking NGO La Strada, its Jerzy Zimowski Award for her contribution to integrating foreign trafficking victims in Poland and providing assistance to Polish trafficking victims abroad.

The EU Anti-Trafficking Day was created in 2007 to raise awareness about the phenomenon and to promote the establishment of national mechanisms to identify and assist victims in every EU Member State. More information on this year’s Anti-Trafficking campaign can be found at www.stophandelludzmi.pl .

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Warsaw Today

Today, Wednesday, October 21, 2009, Vice President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr., visits Warsaw to discuss a range of bilateral issues with Polish authorities, including expanding trade and investment, strengthening democracy in the region, and cooperating to meet common security challenges both bilaterally and through NATO.

Vice President Biden is scheduled to meet separately with the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, and with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Donald Tusk. He will also meet with a broad cross section of civil society leaders to talk about common efforts to promote democracy.

The visit falls at a time of great historical significance, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the Vice President’s view, the real validation of 1989 is less in what we took down and more in what we built, and continue to build together – strong democracies and strong partnerships ranging from mutual defense to energy security and climate change. In reference to Central Europe, Biden’s National Security Adviser said “The example they set 20 years ago inspired the world. The leadership they exert over the next 20 years can change the world, encouraging, supporting, and defending young democracies.”

The Vice President will also visit Bucharest, Romania, and Prague, Czech Republic, before returning to the U.S. on Friday.

 

World Food Day

Today we are celebrating World Food Day in the U.S.

Dealing with chronic hunger is a high priority in the Obama administration’s foreign policy.  The US Secretary of State wrote an interesting opinion piece setting out the five principles guiding US policy to food security.  You can find the article at: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/10/1-new-approach-to-global-food-security-and-hunger/66172.aspx

To celebrate the event, today we are hosting the first of a series of “Green Chats” online to discuss environmental issues.  Today we will host two participants in the Solar Decathlon.  The chat will be held today from 15:00 to 16:00 Warsaw time.  If you would like to participate, please follow this link to our chat.  Click on “Enter as a Guest,” choose a nickname, and you will be in!  Look forward to many more webchats covering all kinds of global issues.

https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/cop15

 

Zapraszamy do uczestnictwa w konkursie „Amerykańskie Inspiracje”

Stowarzyszenie Alumni przy Ambasadzie USA w Warszawie zrzeszające polskich uczestników programów wymiany w USA organizuje konkurs na esej. W konkursie mogą wziąć udział osoby, które skończyły 18 lat i które choć raz były w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Konkurs nosi nazwę „Amerykańskie inspiracje.” W eseju konkursowym trzeba opisać swoje doświadczenia związane z pobytem za oceanem, a także ich wpływ na własne życie. Eseiści powinni też pokazać, jak widzą nową kulturę, ludzi i miejsca. Prace należy przesyłać na adres e-mailowy konkurs@alumni-usa.pl do 31 grudnia 2009 roku.

Wyniki konkursu poznamy do 31 marca 2010 roku. Laureaci swoje nagrody odbiorą w kwietniu przyszłego roku w Warszawie. Koniecznie przeczytaj Regulamin! Znajdziesz w nim ważne informacje dotyczące konkursu.