Campaigns to promote the Polish language, the construction of schools, the renovation of theatres or nursing homes for the elderly, assistance to artists and young communities being active beyond the eastern Polish border and in the Baltic States are just some of the activities of the governmental Foundation “Aid to Poles in the East”. A gala ceremony was held at the Belvedere under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda to mark the 30th anniversary of the organisation.

The attendees were welcomed by the Government Plenipotentiary for Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, Jan Dziedziczak, who at the same time announced that Prime Minister Jan Olszewski, who died in 2019, the initiator of the establishment of the Foundation “Aid to Poles in the East” in 1992, became the Foundation’s patron.

“He always remembered that Poland is not only within today’s borders, but that Poles are also all over the world. He knew perfectly well that our history caused our compatriots to be spread out: some because they had to emigrate, but also because the borders shifted, and some because they were deported far to the East”, President Andrzej Duda referred to Jan Olszewski.

Agata Kornhauser-Duda stated that three decades of “hard, not easy, but performed with great commitment and dedication work have made the Foundation a reliable and proven partner, trusted by the state authorities and compatriots, to whom this aid is directed”.

The Foundation “Aid to Poles in the East” was established in 1992 on the initiative of Prime Minister Jan Olszewski, as a strategic State Treasury Foundation under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main objective of the Foundation is “to provide assistance and support to the Polish Diaspora and Poles and people of Polish origin living all over the world, particularly in the East”.

Adrian Andrzejewski