May; 2009
Issue
61
In This
Issue:
*Consul General's message
*Exhibit on NASA
*Michael Dobbs
*Workshops for Teachers
*Photo Contest
*President at Leisure
*Concert at Paderewski Center
*E-journal
What a glorious spring this has been so far. I know Polish farmers in the region are hoping for rain, but the sunshine has been wonderful here in Krakow over the last couple of weeks.
April 22 was Earth Day, a day when Americans focus on the environment. Here at the Consulate all of April was our “green” month. We organized a very productive conference in Zakopane on alternative energy in national parks (for more on that, please see our web site). Also in honor of Earth Day, the Consulate has been working hard to become a “green” workplace. We’re doing our best to reduce energy usage and water usage, improve our recycling program and reduce the use of paper and plastic.
May promises to be a busy month. We have a team of Social Security experts going out to Rzeszow on May 13 and 14. A totalization agreement between Poland and the U.S. went into effect March 1, 2009. This means that Polish citizens who have worked in the United States or have a spouse or parent who worked in the United States may qualify to reinstate their Social Security benefits or count credits earned in the United States toward their Polish retirement. Our website has the details on this program.
On the cultural side, we are delighted to be opening our 50th Anniversary of NASA photographic exhibition at Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Maius on May 12, which coincides with the beginning of the science festival here in Krakow. You’ll have the chance to see some stunning photos that highlight various aspects of our space program. Of course there is no more fitting venue for an exhibition on space than the home of Copernicus!
Speaking of exhibitions, if you have not had the chance to see the Helena Modjeska exhibition at the National Historical Museum in Krakow, I highly recommend it. The curators have done a wonderful job of showing the life of this extraordinary 19th century Polish-American actress. There are beautiful costumes, photographs, paintings and also some personal artifacts from Helena Modjeska on loan from the Bowers Museum in California.
We also are delighted to announce a concert in honor of the 90th anniversary of Polish-American diplomatic relations. Well-known American pianist Neal Larrabee will be playing at the Paderewski Center near Tarnow on May 22. Mr. Larrabee will be playing some Paderewski pieces in addition to Chopin.
I’d like to share some new ways the U.S. Mission in Poland and the U.S. Consulate are reaching out through alternative media. We have a new blog for the U.S. Mission with posts in both Polish and English. You can find information about competitions, contests, study in the U.S. and more at http://usembassywarsaw.wordpress.com/ . Also, we have two new Facebook pages: one for our monthly e-magazine, Zoom in on America, and the other for the U.S. Consulate. Please become a fan and keep abreast of the latest on U.S. foreign policy and our upcoming events.
Congratulations to Poland on the 208th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution!
Anne Hall
Consul General
The New Era of Discovery - 50th Anniversary of NASA
The photo exhibit “The New Era of Discovery - 50th Anniversary of NASA” will open on May 12 at the Jagiellonian University Museum – Collegium Maius as part of the celebrations of the UNESCO International Year of Astronomy 2009 and the Krakow Science Festival.
The exhibit, prepared by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow, shows spectacular photographs from six of the most important programs in America's history of space exploration: The Apollo Program, Mission to Saturn and Titan, Hubble Space Telescope, Earth Observing System, Space Shuttle Program and Mars Exploration Mission. The exhibition will be accompanied by multimedia presentations of future NASA programs and a series of lectures by astronomy specialists from Jagiellonian University and the Krakow School of Education (Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny). The exhibit will be open until June 30.
For more details, please contact the Public Affairs Office at tel: 012 4245140.
Michael Dobbs Talks to Krakow Students
On Wednesday and Thursday, May 13-14, 2009, the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow will host a visit from famous reporter and Cold War historian Michael Dobbs, former Washington Post’s bureau chief in Warsaw (1980-82) and author of articles and books written from an eyewitness perspective on historical changes in Poland and Eastern Europe. Michael Dobbs will give two lectures to students of Papal University, Tischner European University and Jagiellonian University.
May 13 - 11:45 at Papal University, Franciszkanska 1: "Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet
Empire".
May 14 - 9:00 at the JU New Campus, Lojasiewicza 4: "The End of Communism – Twenty Years Later from the Foreign Correspondent’s Perspective".
Michael Dobbs is a former reporter for The Washington Post turned Cold War historian. He spent much of his journalistic career as a foreign correspondent reporting on the collapse of communism. He was the first western reporter to visit the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk in August 1980.
Workshops for Teachers of English
English Language Specialist Margaret Cholodecki-Myers will visit Poland to conduct a series of workshops for teachers of English at the young learners' level between April 17 and June 5, 2009. From 2006-2008 Margaret worked in Poland as an English Language Fellow and travelled to Lodz, Warsaw, Nowy Sacz, Opole, Bialystok and Krakow. As a result of her two-year fellowship, the U.S. Embassy has further developed its English Teaching program and opened seven Young Learners Resource Centers (YLRCs) for teachers of English. At YLRCs Polish teachers can use and borrow American products like Big Books, die-cut machines, and many other materials created by American publishers that are unavailable on the Polish market. Her schedule in southern Poland includes:
Wroclaw, American Corner, Lower-Silesia Public Library, Rynek 58
May 21-23, 2009
http://www.amcorners.pl/wroclaw/index.htm
Kraków, Małopolskie Centrum Doskonalenia Nauczycieli, ul. Lubelska 23
May 24-28, 2009
http://www.mcdn.edu.pl/adres_strony2009_04_15_04
The American Corner in Wrocław and the U.S. Consulate General Krakow are organizing a photo contest for Dolno¶l±skie, ¦l±skie, Opolskie, Małopolskie, and Podkarpackie provinces: "Jak dbamy o przyrode a jak ja zaniedbujemy" (How We Care for and How We Neglect Nature). Entries can be submitted from April 22 to September 30, 2009.
Regulations: http://krakow.usconsulate.gov/root/pdfs/regulamin.pdf
Application form: http://polish.krakow.usconsulate.gov/news/karta-zgoszenia---konkurs-fotograficzny/konkurs-fotograficzny---karta-zgoszenia.html
Photo Exhibit "Presidents at Leisure"
The photo exhibition "Presidents at Leisure" will be on display May 20- July 22 at the Regional Public Library in Krakow, Rajska 1. The exhibition gives viewers a glimpse into the private lives of many former U.S. presidents. The photos also reflect some American values such as family, active life and love for pets. In addition to photos of past presidents, there are several new photographs of President Barack Obama and his family. The photos in this exhibition provide valuable insights into not only the lives of American presidents but also American history and culture.
Concert at Paderewski Center Tarnow-K±¶na Dolna
A concert celebrating 90 Years of U.S.–Polish Diplomatic Relations will take place at the I. Paderewski Centre Tarnów - K±¶na Dolna on May 22 at 6:00 p.m. Neal Larrabee, a renowned American pianist, will play compositions of Chopin, Paderewski, Beethoven, Ravel and Gottschalk.
Neal Larrabee is a professor of music at the University of Connecticut. He has performed in major music centers including New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Berlin, Warsaw and Moscow. His appearances as recitalist and as soloist with orchestras have won critical acclaim. Nominated by the United States Information Service for performing under the auspices of the American embassies, Larrabee has toured Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. In Poland, Larrabee has become a well-known favorite of the concert-going public.
E-journal- Energy Efficiency: The First Fuel
Increasing the efficient use of existing energy supplies is widely acknowledged as the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest way to meet future energy needs. Energy Efficiency: The First Fuel examines the strong U.S. record of tapping efficiency as a resource, and the accelerated efforts by individuals, organizations, and governments to squeeze greater productivity from all energy sources.
Publication available: http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/0409.html
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