Solidarity Express

Cracow - Warsaw - Gdańsk
December 1-7, 2008

European Solidarity Centre will be delighted to have you as participants in the international project called "Solidarity Express". The Project will be a part of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Lech Wałęsa being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It will take place in three Polish cities (Cracow - Warsaw - Gdańsk) on 1-7 December 2008.

We are inviting young people from all over the world (200 in total) who are interested in social, political and civic problems.

The Project will include visiting places which are popular symbols of the struggle against the totalitarian regime for freedom and peace in Europe. There will also be lectures and discussions about the meaning of Solidarity's main ideas of freedom and dignity in building peaceful order all over the world. If you take part, you will have an opportunity to exchange your thoughts and ideas about the meaning and importance of Solidarity's heritage in today's reality with young people from all corners of the world.

The "Solidarity Express" educational programme will be divided into two stages. In the first part, you will travel by train from Cracow through Warsaw to Gdańsk and, in the process, take part in lectures and discussions about Solidarity. Your itinerary:

• Cracow - place of spiritual development of Pope John Paul II, whose pontificate had a major effect on building peaceful order all over the world;
• Auschwitz-Birkenau. Nazi German concentration camp;
• Warsaw/the Warsaw Rising Museum - symbol of the struggle of the Polish nation for freedom and independence;
• Gdańsk/the Westerplatte Peninsula - the Launch Site of World War II;
• Gdańsk /the Gdańsk Shipyard - the cradle of the Solidarity movement.

In the other part of the Project, you and other young people will participate in the conference called "Solidarity for the Future" scheduled to take place in Gdańsk as a part of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Lech Wałęsa's award of the Nobel Peace Prize. Another major highlight to be staged in Gdańsk will be the World Youth Forum. You will have a chance to meet and talk to President Lech Wałęsa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates invited by him (a number of invited guests, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have already confirmed their attendance).

Please complete the attached application form and send it to us by 31 August 2008.

Filled in application forms should be forwarded to:

Tomek Hildebrandt; t.hildebrandt@ecs.gda.pl
Maciek Łukaszewicz; m.lukaszewicz@ecs.gda.pl

After qualifying, you will receive detailed information about the project and your trip to Poland. All costs of your stay in Poland will be covered by the Organiser.

Download: Application form (DOC)