On June 26, 2017, in the Column Hall at the Institute of History, University of Warsaw, the ceremony of closing 17th round of the Lane Kirkland Scholarships Program was held.
43 scholarship holders from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan who followed in academic 2016/17 year their individual educational programs in law, economics, management, international relations, journalism, and social and political sciences at five Polish universities received their diplomas.
The graduates were accompanied by the program regional coordinators from Kraków, Lublin, Poznań, Warsaw and Wrocław, tutors and other representatives of universities, social and cultural animators, representatives of diplomatic posts – Ambassador of Armenia Edgar Ghazaryan, Vice Ambassador of Ukraine Minister Vasyl Zvarych, Counsellor of the Embassy of Georgia Nato Topchishvili, and representatives of NGOs cooperating with the Kirkland Program.
Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga, the President of Leaders of Change Foundation welcomed the guests on behalf of the organizers and briefed them on the 17th round of the program, which was participated by 26 people from Ukraine, 6 from Belarus, 3 from Georgia, 3 from Moldova, 2 from Armenia, 2 from Russia and 1 from Azerbaijan. The scholarship holders represented the following fields of study: law, economics and management, management in culture, management in ecology, management in health care, management in tourism, international relations, social and political sciences, journalism, public administration, and business administration. President Wierzbowska-Miazga said she was convinced that participation in the program contributed to professional and personal development of the scholarship holders, and that they could use their knowledge and experience gained in Poland in work for the benefit of their countries. She also encouraged the participants to stay in touch with the program whose important part is addressed to alumni.
The Special Guest at the ceremony, Prof. Adam Daniel Rotfeld, gave a lecture on “The international order. Searching for new rules”. Speaking about order among states in the context of the evolution of the term and its present perception, Prof. Rotfeld emphasized important, in his opinion, role of scientists and intellectuals in shaping principles and changing international policy, and encouraged the scholarship holders, who are young people with broad horizons, to take active role in shaping policy in their countries.
Next, this year’s scholarship holders were presented with diplomas by Prof. Rotfeld, President Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga and Head of the PAFF Representative Office in Poland Grzegorz Jędrys; that way they joined a group of 700 Kirkland Program alumni.
At the end of the ceremony a commemorative photo was taken of its participants in front of the historic building of UW Library.
The Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program has been implemented since 2000. Its objective to share Polish experiences in transformation and European integration with representatives from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southern Caucasus during a two-semester complementary course at se-lected Polish universities. Under individual study programs, the scholarship holders study selected aspects of economics and management, public administration and business, law, social and political sciences, journalism, NGO management and culture management. From 2000 to 2016 the program was completed by 699 people from Ukraine (373 alumni), Belarus (137), Georgia (46), Russia (43), Armenia (25), Moldova (19), Kazakhstan (18), Lithuania (12), Slovakia (10), Kirgizstan (8) and Azerbaijan (7).
