Information about the Visegrad Academy of Cultural Diplomacy

The Visegrad Academy of Cultural Diplomacy is a project aimed at young active citizens of the V4 countries. The Academy will provide both basic and advanced knowledge about Polish culture and cultural diplomacy. Project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage program „Promotion of Polish culture abroad”. The amount granted: 95 000 PLN.

Partners:

The Institute for Cultural Relations Policy – Founded in 2012 in Hungary, The Institute for Cultural Relations Policy is a non-governmental organisation fostering scientific education and public discourse regarding cultural relations policy. The institution is based in Budapest.
Hungary’s geographical location and its great accessibility in the middle of Europe make it possible for ICRP to serve as a meeting point to facilitate the public exposure of the perspectives and interests of different communities, governments, international organisations, NGOs, businesses, scholars, thinkers and common citizens, in the hope that this will contribute to the evolving process of the dialogue among civilizations through cultural diplomacy.

Mladi Konzervativci – political youth organization in the Czech Republic. Their goal is to promote conservative and liberal values. MK believes in free market economy, individual liberty, traditional family and rule of law.

Občiansko-demokratická mládež – the oldest and largest independent youth political organization in the Slovak Republic. The aim of the ODM is to spread the ideas of liberal conservatism and democracy, to create the political and legal consciousness of young people and to draw close attention to all the distortions that threaten the development of human rights and a democratic society. The ODM, as the only youth political organization, is not affiliated with any political party and never will be.

As part of the project, we conducted a series of 24 online webinars with experts and special guest lecturers, all held online in English. In addition, we created a database of educational materials and case studies (including Polish and regional cases) in all V4 languages and English, in order to make them available to a wider audience and promote the project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
Cultural Diplomacy Case Studies & Good Practices in English
Polish institutions of cultural diplomacy in English
Polish institutions of cultural diplomacy in Polish
Polish institutions of cultural diplomacy in Slovak
Cultural Diplomacy Case Studies & Good Practices in Czech
Polish institutions of cultural diplomacy in Czech
Polish institutions of cultural diplomacy in Hungarian

KEY WEBINARS (IN ENGLISH):
·         Cultural Diplomacy & its power. Webinar with Paweł Kotla. Temida Arts & Business
Paweł Kotla is a director cooperating with almost all orchestras in Poland and the most famous orchestras in the world (London Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Monte Carlo Philharmonic), founder of I, CULTURE Orchestra, former director of the Kalisz Philharmonic, artistic director of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic and Płock Symphony Orchestra, with experience in working with youth orchestras and extensive artistic contacts in Poland and around the world. Juror of such competitions as: the National Competition for Young Conductors in Białystok, the International Competition for Conductors „Audite” in Radom, the Competition „Young Musician of the Year” Eurovision and the National Percussion Competition. Jerzy Zgodziński in Poznań. The creator and director of the Beskid Classics Festival „Beskid Classics”.

·         Polish cultural diplomacy & institutions. Webinar with Marcin Łapczyński, the Ministry for Culture and National Heritage
Public servant and diplomat. A graduate of the University of Warsaw and the Central European University in Budapest. From 2010, he was associated with the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport, where he dealt with, inter alia, promotion of Polish culture abroad. In 2013-2015, deputy director of the Department of International Relations, in 2015-2019 director of the Polish Institute in Vilnius and counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. In 2017-2019, he was the chairman of the EUNIC Lithuania cluster. He has completed several hundred projects in the field of public and cultural diplomacy. In 2021 he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order „For Merits for Lithuania”.

·         Career of a diplomat. Webinar with Pedro Calvo-Sotelo Ibáñez-Martin and Luis Francisco Martínez Montes
Pedro Calvo-Sotelo Ibáñez-Martin has been a member of the diplomatic service since 1987. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he has served in the Cabinets of the Minister and the Secretary General for Foreign Policy, as well as in the General Directorate of International Security and Disarmament Affairs and in the Diplomatic School. Abroad, he has performed functions in the Spanish Embassies in Stockholm, Paris, Quito and Cairo, and was Ambassador of Spain, in Prague. He has been General Director of International Relations of the Madrid City Council, Member of the Development Cooperation Council, of the Advisory Council for European Affairs of the Community of Madrid, delegate member of the Governing Councils of Casa Árabe, Casa Asia, Centro Sefarad-Israel and of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-China Council Foundation and the Spain-Japan Council Foundation. He has been a member of the opposition courts of the French National School of Administration (ENA), of the Higher Corps of Civil Administrators of the State and, as president, of the Diplomatic Career. He has been a member of the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Quito, the Casal Catalá of Quito, the Spanish Society of Charity of Guayaquil, the Association of Friends of the College of Spain in Paris, the French Association for the Diffusion of Spanish and the ” Groupe des Belles Feuilles” in Paris for a debate on European affairs.
Luis Francisco Martínez Montes has been a member of the diplomatic service since 1992.Diplomat and writer. He served at the Spanish embassy in Kazakhstan as the Deputy Head of Mission and at the Permanent Representations of Spain to the OSCE, in Vienna; to the United Nations, in New York and to the European Union, in Brussels. He has been Executive Advisor for Parliamentary affairs in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation and advisor in the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Ibero-American Affairs. He has published many articles regarding foreign policy with a special focus on Eurasia. His most recent book is “Spain. A global history” which tells a story of Spain and its contribution to the world history.

·         Branding of states. Webinar with Marcin Pasierbski and Bartosz Wielgo, Instytut Nowej Europy.
Bartosz Wielgo – economist, specializes in international economic relations. In the area of ​​his interests there are, among others investment processes and building business relations at the international level. He has experience in private equity projects, public affairs and infrastructure investments.
Marcin Pasierbski – political scientist, for many years associated with non-governmental organizations. PhD student at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw. Scientifically he deals with political ideas, with particular emphasis on reflection on technology. He has experience in the implementation of international projects.

·         Polish culture within Three Seas. Webinar with Łukasz Lewkowicz, Instytut Europy Środkowej.
Mr. Lewkowicz is a Senior analyst in the Visegrad Group of the Institute of Central Europe. Doctor of Humanities in the field of political science. Assistant professor at the Department of Political Thought of the Institute of Political Sciences and Administration at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.
Research interests: historical and contemporary Polish-Slovak relations, internal and foreign policy of Slovakia, functioning of the Visegrad Group and the Three Seas Initiative, cross-border cooperation in Central Europe, political communication, geopolitical thought. Intern at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bratislava. He completed research internships in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Author of numerous scientific articles and books, including author’s monographs.