Are you a journalist, activist, aspiring public intellectual aged 19-34 from Central and Eastern Europe, and residing in the European Union?
Then you should consider applying to the Solidarity Academy!
The Solidarity Academy 2024/2025 is an international project launched by the European Solidarity Centre, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Warsaw, and New Eastern Europe, with a marked participation from the ranks of the School of Leaders. The project aims to inspire and support the development of young leaders across Europe.
In this edition, the Academy will travel to Gdańsk and participate in the All About Freedom Festival and Europe with a View to the Future. Another two trips will take us to Warsaw and Kraków. During this time the participants will take part in workshops and visit cultural sights.
The focus in this year’s edition will be on threats to democracy, media freedom, the responsibility and ethics of journalists, feminist policies, and critical thinking. The topics will be designed to force us out of national narratives and confront challenges to European solidarity.
Over the duration of the Academy, the participants will have an opportunity to write an article in line with this year’s theme. A select few will then make up a block of texts published in a printed edition of New Eastern Europe.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
The European Solidarity Centre is a modern cultural institution that perpetuates the memory of our greatest civic success – the victory of Solidarity. It is a museum commemorating the Solidarność revolution and the collapse of communism in Europe, but also an educational centre, a research and study centre, an archive, a library and a mediatheque. And finally, a public space, a meeting place for citizens who feel responsible for the development of democracy: a zone for practising solidarity and citizenship.
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Warsaw is the Polish office of the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES), the oldest political foundation in Germany with a rich tradition in social democracy dating back to its establishment in 1925. The foundation owes its formation and its mission to the political legacy of its namesake, Friedrich Ebert, the first democratically elected German President. The work of the FES focuses on the core ideas and values of social democracy – freedom, justice and solidarity. This connects the FES to social democracy and free trade unions. As a non-profit institution, the FES organises its work autonomously and independently.
New Eastern Europe is an exclusive bimonthly news magazine dedicated to Central and Eastern European affairs, published by the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław – a Polish-based NGO think tank. The mission of New Eastern Europe is to shape the debate, enhance understanding, and further the dialogue surrounding issues facing the states that were once part of the Soviet Union or under its influence.
Preliminary dates
17-19 October 2024, Gdańsk – All About Freedom Festival
15-16 November 2024, online
17-18 (23-24-25) January 2025, Warsaw
14-15 February 2025, online
4-5 April 2025, Kraków
3-4 June 2025, Gdańsk – Europe with a view to the future
Solidarity Academy offers:
/ a series of five 2-day meetings and one inaugural 3-day meeting – 72 hours of classes in total
/ workshops, lectures, inspirational meetings and talks
/ participation of experts in different fields
/ meetings in Gdańsk on the occasion of All About Freedom Festival and Europe with a view to the Future
/ study visits to Warsaw and Kraków
/ online courses
Schedule
/ Deadline for applications: 25 September 2024
/ Kick-off: 17-19 October 2024, Gdańsk
/ Final meeting : 3-4 June 2025, Gdańsk
/ meeting places: Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków and online
Solidarity Academy. Rules of participation in the programme
1. The programme is addressed to journalists, activists, aspiring intellectuals aged 19-34 from Central and Eastern Europe, living in the European Union.
2. The group will consist of no more than 15 people.
3. Participants will be selected by the project team from among all those who will submit applications. Qualification will be based on the quality of the application form content. The selection will also cater for the group diversity criterion (in terms of competences, roles performed, positions held and place of living).
4. The organizers cover travel costs, accommodation, meals and organization of activities.
5. The programme includes a total of 72 hours of classes within five 2-day meetings and one 3-day inaugural meeting, including the participants’ own work.
6. An applicant for the programme declares readiness:
/ to participate in the first convention
/ to participate in all conventions according to the schedule provided
/ for bookface filling
7. Absence at two consecutive conventions will result in the deletion from the list of participants.
8. Classes will be held according to the following schedule:
/ Inauguration and first meeting: 17 – 19 October 2024 | Gdańsk | All About Freedom Festival
/ Session 2: 15–16 November 2024 | online
/ Session 3: 17–18 (23-24-25) January 2025 | Warsaw
/ Session 4 : 14–15 February 2025 | online
/ Session 5: 4–5 April 2025 | Kraków
/ Session 6: 3–4 June 2025 | Gdańsk | Europe with a View to the Future
9. Each participant in the programme will receive a certificate of participation provided that they participate in at least 80% of the classes, and have taken part in an activity to check the knowledge gained during the programme.
We strongly encourage you to apply for the programme using the link below!
Registration link
Co-organisers
