The main topic of the first congress in the new round was the leaders’ self-awareness. The event, held in Książenice near Warsaw from September 19 to September 23, was attended by 45 leaders from all over Poland, 14 tutors and other invited guests, such as coaches, lecturers, and PAFF representatives.
The guests were welcomed by Polish-American Freedom Foundation Program Director Radosław Jasiński. “I’m convinced that your participation in this program will not be limited only to attendance at meetings, lectures and workshops but it will be first of all an opportunity to meet unique people and build valuable relations. The strength of social actions is in cooperation, and therefore the network of the program alumni is so important, as it will be a source of support for you,” Radosław Jasiński said.
The meeting was also attended by PAFF Program Officer Mirosław Czyżewski who presented other programs run by the Foundation and encouraged to joining in them.
In his opening lecture on The Rules For Leaders At The Time Of Chaos, Tomasz Stawiszyński presented the methods that can be useful in dealing with current social and political situation, such as submissiveness in both assessing your own judgements and judging other people; trying to objectify and distance yourself from your emotions, especially those strong ones; nurturing relationships; and accepting imperfect reality.
Another guest of the congress, former governor of Podlaskie province and lifeguard at Grupa Granica Maciej Żywno told, among other things, about his activities on Polish border with Belarus.
Katarzyna Czayka-Chełmińska, Agnieszka Szelągowska, Justyna Józefowicz, and Justyna Czarnota conducted a workshop on self-development planning, which is a part of each leaders’ congress. The leaders worked with their tutors in four groups, defining the environment they are in, discovering and naming views and values that guide them in their lives, and all these in relation to the objective each of them set themselves in the program.
Apart from the workshop in development groups, PAFF Leaders also took part in intensive specialist workshops on feedback, introduction to leadership, and Oxford-type debate. The workshops were conducted by the following coaches: Małgorzata Lelonkiewicz, Małgorzata Borowska, Maria Makowska, Justyna Józefowicz, and Magdalena Tchórznicka. The participants worked in groups during the workshops, which facilitated their integration.
Tutors also improved their skills – they attended a workshop held by Agnieszka Szelągowska, a specialist in tutoring and head of the “PAFF Leaders” program.
The team training games and Oxford-type debate on Only Participation In Local Government Allows You To Have A Real Influence On Local Community Development made an opportunity for their participants to take various leader roles on and look for effective strategies of group cooperation.
