Committee

Paweł Prokop

Chairman of the Organisational and Programming Committee. Chairman of Foundation for Managerial Initiatives

Lecturer at University College of Enterprise and Administration in Lublin, Lublin Mayor’s Plenipotentiary for social participation and cross-border cooperation, council member in the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, coach and consultant in the field of managing institutions within public, social, and business sectors. Author of many international cooperation programmes, expert in local government and social programmes, in particular longtime innovative projects.

Deputy Chairman of the Organisational and Programming Committee.
Director of International Cooperation Centre of Lublin City Office

Co-founder and leader of NGOs. Author of numerous educational programmes and publications concerning civic education, NGO management and development cooperation. During martial law, a member of the regional authorities of the underground ‘Solidarność’, a political prisoner. Co-founder of independent scouting in Poland, first President of the Board of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP). Long-term President of the Education for Democracy Foundation. Co-founder of the Civic Committee for Solidarity with Ukraine. Member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy (2000-2007) and authorities of ‘Grupa Zagranica’. Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of National Education (2007-2011) and subsequently Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Author of Development Cooperation Act.

Krzysztof Stanowski

Piotr Choroś

Director of the Social Participation Office of Lublin City Office

Director of the Social Participation Office since 2018, employee of the Lublin City Office since 2011. From 2004 to 2011, member of the Management Board of the Homo Faber Association in Lublin; from 2004 to 2006, member of the Management Board of Amnesty International Association. He cooperated with non-governmental organizations on the issue of cooperation between public administration and the third sector. In 2014, he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the President of the Republic of Poland for his outstanding contribution to the development of civil society in Poland, for achievements in professional and social work undertaken for the benefit of the country. Chairman of the Council for Public Benefit Activities at the City of Lublin and member of the Council for Public Benefit Activity at the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, where he represents the Union of Polish Metropolises.

Adviser on Eastern Europe States the the Board of Local Democracy Development Foundation

For 15 years connected with the NGOs sector in Poland and abroad through development and implementation of international cooperation programmes in the filelds of: community development, civil participation, contemporary mothods of public administration management, local media, cross-sectoral partnerships – both local and business, culture and assistance for youth initiatives. Her research interest are the Eastern Partnership states, especially Ukraine and Georgia. Expert and consultant to public institutions and advisery bodies. Has a long term experience in implementation of project co-finansed by the European Commission, Norway Grants, Polish Development Assistance Programme, Cohesion Fund of the EU, Erasmus+ Programme, and many more.

Natalia Gmurkowska

Ewelina Graban

Secretary of the Organisational and Programming Committee

MA in Ukrainian philology and in sociology, graduate of the European College of Polish and Ukrainian Universities. A graduate of Project Management Studies at the Warsaw School of Economics. Since 2007, she has been working as a Head of Division for International Programs and Projects at the Lublin City Office in the International Cooperation Centre. In her professional work, she deals with the development of grant applications, implementation and settlement of projects co-financed from external funds. She has the APM Group PRINCE2 Foundation and MSP Foundation certificates. Privately: she loves traditional culture.

Director of the Integrated Territorial Investments Bureau of Lublin City Office

A graduate of Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, manager of Polish and international educational projects. Experienced official of civil service of both central and local government administration. Manager realizing his competences in diplomacy and management over the years. Worked, among others, in the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the Lublin Province Governor Office, Lubartów County and Lublin City Office.
In private, passionate about motorcycle riding and martial arts.

Radosław Guz

Michał Karapuda

Director of the Culture Department of Lublin City Office

He started his professional career in Wyborcza daily and then worked, among others, in the Centre for Culture in Lublin as Head of Promotion and Marketing Department. He worked with several NGOs, serving as secretary of the Audit Committee of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Lublin between 2006 and 2008. Since 2008, he has been working at the Lublin City Office, and since 2013 he has been Director of the Culture Department of the Lublin City Hall. He was, among other things, the coordinator of the City of Lublin’s involvement in the Intercultural Cities programme organised by the European Commission and the Council of Europe in 2008, as well as the project leader of Lublin 2016 European Capital of Culture – Candidate in 2008-2011, the coordinator in Lublin of the National Cultural Programme of the Polish EU Presidency in 2011, the coordinator of the team of authors and co-author of the Lublin’s Culture Development Strategy 2013-2020. He also holds positions like: Secretary of the Lublin Culture Council – acting under the auspices of Lublin Mayor, member of the Council of the State Museum at Majdanek and member of the Council of the Lublin Museum in Lublin.

Chairwoman of Sempre a Frente Foundation

Youth Information and Development Center and regional point of Eurodesk network consultant. Since 2014, she has been engaged with social organizations. Psychologist, career counselor, experienced coordinator of international projects, facilitator of youth exchanges, trainer of social and digital competences, mentor of youth initiative groups. Member of the Children and Youth Committee of Lublin and the Lublin Public Benefit Works Council. One of the initiators European Youth Capital application process in Lublin. She strongly believes in the power of non-formal education and empowering young people in the social life of the city.

Aleksandra Kulik

Grzegorz Malec

Director of the Public Transport Authority in Lublin

He has been working in the transport industry for years. He worked in the Department of Public Transport and in the Public Transport Office of the Lublin City Office since 2004. He has been working in the Public Transport Authority in Lublin since 2009. He became the Head of the Department of Transport and the Development of the Communication Network of the Public Transport Authority in 2010 and the Deputy Director for Transport two years later. He became the Director in 2013. He was responsible for the implementation of one of the largest transport projects carried out thanks to EU funds: “The Integrated Urban Public Transport System in Lublin”. He proposed ecological transport solutions, thanks to which the City of Lublin once again received the award of the “Eco City”. He completed a number of courses and trainings concerning, among others, public transport..

Lawyer and political scientist

Affiliated with Political Science Faculty of Marie Curie Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin since 1990ties she currently teaches as a lecturer within their International Relations Department. She also spent time as a research fellow and visiting professor in various higher education institutions in Europe and the USA. Her research and writing focuses on institutional and legal aspects of democratic transformations, with the special focus on human rights, national minorities rights, local government, civic society and non-profit sector in Central and Eastern Europe. Author and editor of many academic publications. Mrs. Rybczyńska has worked as
a consultant and expert with various local and national public policy bodies, non-profit organizations and intergovernmental organizations including Foundation in Support of Local Democracy (FRDL), Human Rights Helsinki Foundation, OSCE-ODHIR,
US-Ukraine Foundation, Management Initiatives Foundation (FIM).

Dr Julita Agnieszka Rybczyńska

Mariusz Sagan

Director of the Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department of Lublin City Office,
plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Lublin for the special economic zone

Co-author of Lublin Strategy 2020 setting directions of development of the biggest city of Eastern Poland. Initiator of Study in Lublin programme, Lublin IT Upland, and Lublin Medicine – Medical & Wellness and Life Science clusters (all activities held in Lublin). Expert and practician in the field of entrepreneurship and strategic management, including city strategies and foreign investment. Simultaneously, since 2009, works in the Collegium of Business Administration at SGH Warsaw School of Economics. Author and
co-author of more than 100 publications on regional and city development, international business, and business management, including numerous articles in American and British journals. Visited dozens of countries (China, USA, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Portugal, etc.) where he presented results of his work during conferences and lectures. Member of Global Advisory Board at Center for Leadership and Management at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey.

European Meeting Center – Nowy Staw Foundation

Since 2007 engaged in the activities of non-governmental organizations in Lublin. Coordinator of many projects financed, among others, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Bank of Poland. During 2013-2015 managed the Regional Centre for International Debate in Lublin. Has experience in cooperation with local government officials (co-organizer of a training series for local government officials, as part of the project entitled “Professional local government official”). Co-author of a handbook “Ewaluacja.co – a tool for the evaluation of non-governmental organizations” and the “Development strategy of Belzyce Municipality for 2015 – 2022”. Currently, works at the European Information Center Europe Direct – Lublin, operating within the European Meeting Center – Nowy Staw Foundation.

Andrzej Skórski

Beata Surmacz

Director of the Institute of Central Europe in Lublin

Doctor with habilitation in political science. Professor at the Department of International Relations Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Research interests: Polish eastern policy in particular Polish-Ukrainian relations; contemporary diplomacy. Author of numerous scientific papers and books including: Modern Polish-Ukrainian Relations. Politological Analysis of the Good-Neighborliness Treaty, Lublin 2002, and The Evolution of Contemporary Diplomacy. Actors-Structures- Functions, Lublin 2015.

Patent attorney

Since 2008, she has been working at the Department of EU Law at the Law and Administration Faculty of UMCS (initially as an assistant, and from 2015 as an assistant professor), where she lectures and researches European and Intellectual Property Law. In her professional life, she works on protection of intellectual property. In 2012–2015 she was Head of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Office at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, and since 2013 she has worked as a patent attorney. Since 2018, she has been Director of the European Centre UMCS – a body that deals with research and didactics in European integration.

Kinga Wernicka, PhD in Law

Aleksandra Zińczuk

Editor-in-chief of Kultura Enter magazine

Vice President of the Board at Open Territory Foundation in Lublin. Researcher of literature and Eastern European cultural heritage of the borderland, initiator of research projects, and commemorative and social actions in this area. Graduate of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, visiting researcher at University College London. Member in several NGOs, in Polish–American Alumni Network at the School of Leaders, also in international researchers’ network of Marie Curie Alumni Association at the European Commission. Member of the executive team and Secretary of the Eastern Partnership Culture Congress (Lublin 2013, Lviv 2015). Editor of the publishing series at Workshops of Culture in Lublin. Publicist, poet, essayist.