Cantors Assembly Performance and Irena Sendler Award Presentation
1 July 2009

100 World Renowned Cantors performed at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw on June 30. The concert titled “Jewish Musical Expressions of the Soul – Symbols of Brotherhood and the Human Spirit. Jewish Vocal Masterpieces” was an expression of brotherhood and friendship to those who helped the Jewish people during the Holocaust.  This historic event involved the largest assembly of cantors in Poland since 1939.  The Cantors Assembly was accompanied by the Orchestra of the Polish National Opera and the Alla Polacca Children’s Choir. During the event, the Irena Sendler Award was presented to Beata Maliszkiewicz from Opole, the director of a school called Towarzystwo Alternatywej Edukacji.  Ms. Maliszkiewicz demonstrated exceptional efforts in the promotion of peace, tolerance, and social justice and developing innovative ways to promote an appreciation of diversity. [more]

Museum of the History of Polish Jews - Groundbreaking Ceremony
2 June 2009 

On June 30, Ambassador Ashe, along with Polish Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski, Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, and Jewish Historical Institute head Marian Turski, attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of Warsaw’s Museum of the History of Polish Jews.  The ceremony was followed by a concert of the Cantors Assembly, who performed again that evening at a gala event at the Polish National Opera.  “I am delighted that the vision of a museum documenting the illustrious history of Jews in Poland will at long last be realized,” Ambassador Ashe said.  “I congratulate the Museum staff and the many, many Poles who have worked so hard to bring this idea to fruition.”  [more]  

America’s Jazz Ambassadors Land at Hoover Square in Warsaw
17 June 2009

The American Embassy will be presenting an exhibit of Jazz Legends from the old “Jazz Ambassadors” tours June 27- July 26 at Hoover Square’s “Centrum Artystsycznego Fabryka Trzciny” (Krakowskie Przedmieście 60A) in Warsaw.  From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and others served as cultural diplomats, transcending national boundaries, and making friends for our country.  Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World, an exceptional collection of photographs and documents drawn from archives around the U.S. chronicles the tours of American jazz legends as they traveled the globe on behalf of the U.S. State Department, announced Cultural Attaché Chuck Ashley. [more]

Tomasz Stańko Performs in Warsaw to Promote "Jam Session" and "American Dream" Exhibits
29 June 2009

Tomasz Stańko, the world-famous trumpeter, composer and Polish jazz ambassador, gave a special performance at Warsaw’s Hoover Square on Sunday, June 28 to promote two very special American exhibitions, announced Cultural Attaché, Chuck Ashley.  Stańko has frequently performed and recorded with American jazzmen all over the world and in the US at such legendary venues like Birdland in New York City, Blues Alley in Washington, DC, and Hothouse in Chicago to mention just a few. The concert and the two exhibitions it promoted are offered in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of U.S.-Polish diplomatic relations. Photos from the Hoover Square concert are available here. [more]

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt Speaks to Polish Senate on the New World Economic Order
1 July 2009

At the invitation of the National Economy Committee of the Polish Senate, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who is a member of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, was in Warsaw June 30 to give a presentation to the Polish Senate on how business and government can work together to survive and even prosper in these difficult economic times. Immelt encouraged government and business to partner together and focus on major themes such as green technologies and making healthcare more accessible and affordable. [more]

American Students Visit Poland on U.S.-Poland Youth Exchange
1 July 2009

Fifteen high school students and two teachers from Chicago, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa, are wrapping up a four-week stay in Poland this week.  The students and teachers are participating in the first edition of the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Leadership Exchange program.  The American exchange participants spent their first two weeks in Poland living with host families, attending high school classes, interning with local organizations, and touring historic sites.  Some students in the group visited Gdańsk while others went to Nowy Sącz.  For their third week, the Americans assembled in Warsaw for a week-long program of civic education to learn more about Polish history, government, law, and culture. [more]

Ambassador Ashe Visits Sopot
26 June 2009

On June 23-24, Ambassador Ashe participated in the Regional Operational Expert Group meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) in Sopot, Poland.  The meeting--organized and hosted by the Polish government--gathered experts from over 30 countries to discuss best practices in preventing the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials, with an emphasis on the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles and the commitment that participating countries made to it. [more]

Ambassador Ashe and Wprost Present Winners of Essay Competition
24 June 2009

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe hosted a reception for the 11th edition of the US Embassy-WPROST magazine essay contest for young journalists on June 23. Wprost editor in chief Stanisław Janecki joined the Ambassador in presenting the winners of the essay competition this year. Twenty-two-year-old Magdalena Gornicka from Opole won, with Bartosz Wasilewski of Malbork and Jerzy Ziemacki of Warsaw taking second and third places. Also present were Marek Król, President and founder of Wprost; Paulina Krol, director of marketing, and Amadeusz Krol, vice president and managing director. The goal of this partnership is to select the best-written and most interesting essay on an American theme. [more]

Illinois Air National Guard visits Polish Air Base to assist C-130 mission
24 June 2009

The Illinois National Guard continued its ongoing, robust cooperation with the Polish military with the June 16-24 visit by members of the 182nd Airlift Wing, Peoria, IL. The group arrived Thursday at the 33rd Air Base in Powidz, as part of the Illinois Air National Guard’s role in the Illinois State Partnership Program. The visit is part of a continual endeavor by National Guard Units and Eastern European Military Forces to create information exchange and familiarization with western based assets.  The arrival of the 182nd marked the beginning of a week long diplomatic mission to help the Polish Air Force’s efforts to assist standing up the new C-130 mission. Lt. Col. Mieczysław Gaudyn,14 Airlift Squadron Commander told the visiting National Guardsmen, “We are really glad to have you here. To have the opportunity to ask you questions… Creation of the [Polish C-130) squadron is a process. The first purpose is to give supplies to troops, such as in Afghanistan.” Since spring 2009, over 100 members of the Illinois National Guard have visited Poland for various exercises and trainings. To see the photo gallery please click here. [more]

Regional Financial Intelligence Unit Conference
25 June 2009

On 22 and 23 June, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) together with the Department for Financial Information of the Polish Ministry of Finance (MoF) conducted a regional conference for financial intelligence units.  The conference addressed the use of wire transfers and bulk cash smuggling by money launderers and terrorist financiers to move the proceeds of crime and funds for terrorist operations.  Central to all conference discussions was the implementation of international standards and best practices in order to detect and interdict such movements of money.  The conference was co-sponsored and co-funded by OTA and the MoF; additional financial support was provided by the Council of Europe Project against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Russian Federation. [more]

Minister of Science and Higher Education Kudrycka Visiting Washington
24 June 2009

Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education Barbara Kudrycka is visiting Washington, D.C. June 24-27, 2009 to intensify bilateral U.S.-Polish educational and scientific cooperation.   Minister Kudrycka will focus on joint research efforts in polar science and climate change in meetings at the White House Office of Science and Technology, the State Department, the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. [more]

BEFORE STONEWALL: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community
22 June 2009

The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the Campaign Against Homophobia are pleased to invite you to a free screening of American documentary BEFORE STONEWALL: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community on Thursday, June 25th at 18:00 at the Center for Contemporary Art’s Kino.Lab (ul. Jazdow 2).  The “Stonewall riots” that followed the June 1969 police raid of New York City’s Stonewall Inn, then the largest gay and lesbian establishment in America, are largely regarded as the starting point of the gay rights movement.  The film explores the history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots through archival footage, and personal recollections. [more]

Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues in Warsaw
22 June 2009

Melanne Verveer, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, delivered the key-note speech in Warsaw at the June 20-21 conference “Women for Poland, Poland for Women: 20 years of transformation 1989-2009.” The concluding session of the conference also included a pre-recorded video message from Secretary Hilary Clinton, in which she praised Poland’s transformation and said, “Polish women have helped build that reality.”  On Monday, June 22, Ambassador Verveer met with a group of activists and government representatives to discuss the problem of violence against women in Poland, attended a lunch hosted by Ambassador Ashe with women leaders in Poland, and lead a roundtable hosted by the U.S. Embassy on global women’s issues.  “I am impressed with the incredible changes that have taken place in Poland over the last 20 years,” said Ambassador Verveer, “and encourage women from all sectors of society in Poland to build on the momentum from this weekend’s conference to push for even more progress on women’s issues.” For a photo gallery from her visit please click here and for a gallery from the Congress click here. [more]

Polish Entry Wins Grand Prize in Global Democracy Video Challenge
16 June 2009

The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and U.S. Consulate General in Krakow are pleased to announce that Poland’s Lukasz Szozda has won the grand prize among European entrants in the YouTube/U.S. Department of State Democracy Video Challenge.  “We are very proud to see that one of the excellent contributions by Polish video artists went on to win the grand prize for Europe,” U.S. Ambassador Victor Ashe commented. “Congratulations to Lukasz from all of us in the U.S. Mission to Poland. Your uplifting and appealing video clearly struck the same chord with voters from around the world as it did with Polish voters and American diplomats in Poland.” Mr. Szozda will travel to New York, Washington DC, and Hollywood in October 2009, where he and the five other grand prize winners from other regions around the world will meet with democracy activists and members of the film and television industry. The videos by Mr. Szozda and the other regional winners will be featured in a gala screening hosted by the Motion Picture Association of America. To see Lukasz Szozda’s winning entry, click here. [more]

US Department of State Releases Trafficking in Persons Report
16 June 2009

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton released the ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State Department on June 16, 2009. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against modern-day slavery.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" set forth in the TVPA are classified as “Tier 1,” while those doing less will be classified as “Tier 2” or “Tier 3.” Poland has been given a ranking of Tier 1, because the Government of Poland fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. This ranking recognizes that the Polish government has increased its reflection period for foreign victims to 90 days and also significantly increased funding for victim assistance programs. To read the country narrative on Poland click here. To read the entire TIP report click here. To view more information on Trafficking In Persons and a photo gallery click here. To read Secretary Clinton’s op-ed on Trafficking In Person, click here. [more]

House Resolution Celebrating 90 Years of United States-Polish Diplomatic Relations
8 May 2009

A resolution (HR 266) celebrating 90 years of U.S. Polish diplomatic relations was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Daniel Lipinski of Illinois and has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  A similar resolution in the Senate (Senate Resolution 9) sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana was passed on April 1. [more]

New Embassy Speakers Bureau Programs Announced for 2009!
2009

The U.S. Embassy Warsaw Speakers Bureau is excited to announce three major topics for 2009.  Diplomats from the U.S. Embassy are available to visit your school or institution throughout Poland to speak on the following subjects:

* Celebrating 90 Years of Polish-American Diplomatic Relations
* EducationUSA: Opportunities for study in the United States
* Zapraszamy: Visas, work, and travel in the U.S.

Click here for more information about these new programs and how to request a speaker.