The ceremony of presenting diplomas took place at the University of Warsaw on June 27, 2024. Diplomas were given to 34 participants of the two-semester Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program in 2023/24 academic year.
In 2023/24 academic year scholarship holders from eight countries pursued their individual education programs in law, economics, management, international relations, journalism, and social and political sciences at Polish universities in the following four cities: Kraków, Lublin, Warsaw, and Wrocław. Three biggest groups of graduates participating in this year’s Kirkland Program graduates came from Belarus (9 people), Armenia (7 people) and Ukraine (7 people); the remaining came from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. They were academics, public and local administration employees, economists, lawyers, and culture managers.
Polish-American Freedom Foundation Program Director Agnieszka Mazur and the Leaders of Change Foundation President Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga congratulated the graduates. The ceremony was also attended by regional coordinators as well as social and culture animators cooperating with the Kirkland Program.
The graduates listened to the lecture on work in diplomacy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries involved in Kirkland Program, which was given by Urszula Gacek, Polish Ambassador to Council of Europe in Strassburg, General Consul of Poland in New York, senator, and member of European Parliament.
The Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program has been implemented since 2000, and its objective is to share Polish experiences in political transformation and EU integration with representatives of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South Caucasus countries who come to Poland to study at two-semester supplementary university courses.
Today the program is addressed to scholarship holders coming from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Under individual educational programs they study such subjects as selected aspects of economics and management, public administration and business, law, social and political sciences, journalism, NGO management, or culture management.
In 2016, the offer of the program was extended with a one-semester course for academics – Kirkland Research.
Each year about 45 scholarship holders take part in the program. Over the years 2000-2024 the Program was completed by 1073 people from 13 countries (1020 Kirkland Program scholarship holders and 53 Kirkland Research scholarship holders), including: 571 from Ukraine, and 189 from Belarus, 71 from Georgia, 69 from Russia, 45 from Armenia, 33 from Kazakhstan, 25 from Moldova, 20 from Kirgizstan, 15 from Azerbaijan, 12 from Lithuania, 10 from Slovakia, 7 from Uzbekistan and 6 from Tajikistan.
