The program, launched in 2004, offers study tours to Poland to active students and professionals from Eastern European countries. The objective of the program is to show the realities of Poland and the European Union and at the same time develop and strengthen professional and personal contacts between leaders from Eastern Europe and their Polish hosts.
The students are offered a dozen-day long study tours to Poland; the eligible candidates have to be persons between the age of 18 and 21, coming from Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and Russian Federation (currently from Briansk, Kaliningrad, Novgorod, Leningrad and St. Petersburg oblasts, as well as Moscow and Voronezh). Students participating in the “STP” have an opportunity to meet Polish academic environment, civic organizations, leaders of public life as well as participate in lectures, workshops, seminars and cultural events.
Students apply to the program individually. The tours are organized for groups of 10-12 participants from various countries. They are held twice a year, in spring and in the fall, and managed by experienced Polish NGOs selected in an open competition. The program is coordinated by the “Borussia” Foundation from Olsztyn.
The offer for professionals is addressed to representatives of local governments, central administration, central public institutions, NGOs, media, educational sector and other professional groups from countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The tours, aimed at sharing the Polish experiences in transformation and European integration, are held in cooperation with Polish NGOs as well as central and local administration. After the events in the Maidan in 2014, the special emphasis in contacts with Ukraine has been put on sharing experiences with people actively participating in local government reform implementation and activities aimed at Ukraine integration with EU structures. Over the years 2014-2017 more than 1,760 citizens of Ukraine participated in “Study Tours to Poland”.
The recruitment of participants in study tours for professionals shall be preceded by a letter of intent sent to the program office in Warsaw by an interested institution and its partner organization from the countries of the region, or by a Polish NGO or institution.
In total, in the years 2004-2017, 8,977 participants, including students and professionals representing various environments took part in the study tours. Each year Poland is visited by more than 300 professionals and more than 200 students.
Within the “Study Tours to Poland” Program, the Foundation supports the Warsaw Euro-Atlantic Summer Academy – WEASA – a common undertaking of PAFF, the German Marshall Fund and the European Center Natolin Foundation. WEASA offers two weeks of classes, based on the Natolin campus, addressed to experts from the Eastern Partnership countries, i.e. analysts, political and government advisors, NGO and think tanks staff, civic service representatives and journalists. The thematic scope encompasses political transformation, European integration and transatlantic relations. Students are offered lectures, workshops, and meetings with practitioners, with participation of prominent lecturers and experts from Poland and abroad. The hitherto five editions of WEASA (2013-2017) were participated by a total of 214 people from the Eastern Partnership countries, including: 24 students form Armenia, 18 from Azerbaijan, 23 from Belarus, 45 from Georgia, 29 from Moldova, and 77 from Ukraine.
The Foundation has disbursed $5,596,159, including $329,422 for the current edition of the program.
