December; 2008
Issue
56
In This
Issue:
*Consul General's message
*Religion in the Public Sphere
*Polish Immigration Exhibit
*America in Wroclaw
*Video Contest
*Alliance of Youth Movements
*Transition website
As I write this, we have just finished celebrating the American holiday of Thanksgiving. In the spirit of this holiday, I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the U.S. Consulate to all of our wonderful friends and colleagues. We appreciate all that you do to strengthen the Polish-American relationship.
I’m sure many of you may have noticed that we had an election in the U.S. in November. We had three wonderful election night events in Wroclaw, Katowice and Krakow with terrific participation from Polish students in particular. I think all of us were impressed with the level of knowledge here about our electoral system and the campaign. President Bush and Senator McCain graciously expressed the pride Americans feel for the historic nature of President-elect Obama’s win. For more information on the presidential transition, please see President-elect Obama’s web site at: http://change.gov/.
We had some very interesting visitors in November, including George Zamka, a NASA astronaut who talked about NASA’s future plans for a return to the moon by 2020 in preparation for a manned mission to Mars. He reminded students in Krakow, Chorzow and Sopotnia Wielka about the importance of studying math, science and engineering and remaining intellectually curious. Thanks to all of the people and institutions that made George Zamka’s visit such a success.
In December the U.S. Consulate, together with Tischner European University and the Goethe Institute, the French, Austrian and Italian Cultural Institutes have organized a conference on “Religion in the Public Sphere”. This conference is part of our annual “Bridges of Tolerance” program. We’re delighted that Professor Clyde Wilcox of Georgetown University will be joining us for this. More information on the conference and Professor Wilcox’s schedule is in this newsletter, and we hope to see you there.
Poznan will be host to a major UN conference on climate change December 1-13. If you would like to learn more about the U.S. delegation and the U.S. position on climate change, please visit the State Department web site at http://www.state.gov/g/oes/climate/cop14/.
Please keep an eye on the club Alchemia in Kazimierz in December. We are helping to support many American jazz artists that will be playing there throughout the month. For the latest information, please visit Alchemia’s web site at http://www.alchemia.com.pl/eng/id,15,notka.html.
As we head into December, I wish you all a happy and joyous holiday season.
Anne Hall
Consul General
Conference on Religion in the Public Sphere
An international conference on "Religion in the Public Sphere" will take place at Tischner European University on Friday, December 5th. The project is organized within the framework of the Bridges of Tolerance program, which was started by the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow six years ago in reaction to the terrorist attack of 9/11. Every year an annual conference offers a different topic of interest for debates and discussions among students, academics and media to promote and expand dialogue and understanding between countries, nations and people at large.
This year’s conference, organized for the third time with Tischner European University and in partnership with several diplomatic and cultural missions in Krakow, consists of sessions that will explore three major themes: religious radicalism and its political impact, civil society of faith communities, religion and bioethics. The conference will be preceded by an artistic event on Tuesday December 2nd. A Tolerance Tramway will be going around the Planty from 15:30-17:30. There will be actors and dancers on board as well as students from Tischner European University. The ride is free.
The U.S. Consulate General and Tischner European University invite everyone to use the Tolerance Tramway on Tuesday, attend the Conference and participate in discussions on Friday.
Exhibit on Polish Immigration to the United States
On the occasion of 400 years of Polish immigration to the United States, an exhibit will open on December 2 at 4:00 p.m. at the Regional Public Library, Rajska 1 in Krakow. The exhibition will present photos of people and towns with Polish communities in the United States as well as publications and posters from cultural events. The exhibit will be on display from November 28, 2008 until January 31, 2009.
"America in Wroc³aw" Photography Contest
Have you seen some examples of American culture in Wroc³aw? Photograph them, send us the photos and win one of the three Panasonic digital cameras. The contest "Wroc³aw po amerykańsku", organized by the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow and the American Corner in Wroc³aw, is open to all amateur photographers. Contest categories include: Places, People and Events. Visit the contest website: http://www.wbp.wroc.pl/konkurs/ to read the regulations, fill in the entry form and send your photos to: wroclawpoamerykansku@gmail.com before December 23, 2008. The winners will be announced on January 7, 2009.
On December 1, 2008, the U.S Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch the interactive Video Contest "My Culture + Your Culture=? Share your Story". People all over the world ages 14 and older are invited to submit videos, no longer than three minutes in length, containing any form of artistic expression including, but not limited to, dance, spoken word, poetry, and song. Videos will be judged on originality, creativity, effectiveness, and production quality. Four winners (two in each of the age categories: 14-17 years and 18+ years; one non-U.S., one U.S.) will receive the grand prize: an all-expense-paid, two-week cultural exchange program to the United States (for the non-U.S. winners) or from the United States to a country to be determined (for the U.S. winners).
The contest opens December 1, 2008 and closes January 26, 2009. Winners will be announced March 16, 2009. Create your videos now for a chance to win an international experience of a lifetime.
Contest Details and Rules are available on international social network ExchangesConnect at: http://connect.state.gov
Alliance of Youth Movements Summit
On December 3-5, Facebook, Google, Youtube, MTV, Howcast, Columbia Law School, the U.S. Department of State and Access 360 Media are bringing leaders of 17 pioneering organizations from 15 countries together with technology experts at Columbia Law School in New York for the first-ever conclave to empower youth against violence and oppression through the use of the latest online tools. These young leaders will form a new group, the alliance of youth movements, which will produce a field manual for youth empowerment.
The gathering was inspired by the success of the one million voices against the FARC, a group started on Facebook.com by young people in Colombia. Speakers at the summit will include: Whoopi Goldberg, host of ABC's "the View", Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder, Facebook, James K. Glassman, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Oscar Morales, founder, one million voices against the FARC, Luke Russert, MSNBC, Matthew Waxman, associate professor of law, Columbia Law School.
The summit will be streamed live online by Howcast.com and on Thinkmtv.com.
Howcast will use the field manual for youth empowerment developed at the summit as the cornerstone of a much larger online "hub," where emerging youth organizations can access and share "how-to" guides and tips on how to use social-networking and other technologies to promote freedom and justice and counter violence, extremism and oppression. The hub (http://howcast.com/youthmovements) will include instructional videos and text guides, links to related online resources and discussion forums for sharing experiences, ideas and advice.
President-elect Barack Obama will not take office until January 2009, but his work already has begun. Please have a look at a special website prepared by America.gov on forming the new government http://uspolitics.america.gov/uspolitics/elections/index.html , listen to podcasts and post your questions on the incoming administration on a blog.
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