History

For a decade now, Lublin has been a meeting place for practitioners of cross-border cooperation from the EU and European Neighbourhood Policy. Cross-Border Cooperation Congress, organised annually, facilitates dialogue between local governments, NGOs, academia, culture and businesses. Thousands of people from over 40 countries have participated in the Congress so far.

In 2011, Lublin initiated the first Congress bringing together cultural circles from the EP countries, named as Eastern Partnership Culture Congress. The following year, on the initiative of the Lublin City Hall, the Self-government of the Lublin Voivodeship and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Centre for Eastern Competencies was established. Its primary aim was to initiate new projects in the broadly understood development aid. The Centre was the initiator and organizer of the next edition of the Congress – Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress.

From the very beginning, the Congress was a meeting place and a platform for dialogue between science, culture, education, local and state authorities. The Congress evolved and expanded with time. Each year, it offered over 50 discussion panels in 7 thematic lines during 3 subject-oriented days. So far, the Congress has been attended by over 7,000 people from over 20 countries. The Congress has also been the venue for exceptional events, such as the signing of the Declaration on Territorial Cooperation between Lublin and 10 cities from Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia in 2014 and the signing of the Declaration on the joint implementation of the ‘Cross-border Cooperation Strategy of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, the Volyn Oblast, the Lviv Oblast, and the Brest Oblast for 2014-2020’. In 2013, during the Congress, the Council of Europe’s Plaque of Honour was awarded to Lublin. In 2016, Mayor of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk and Mykola Romaniuk, Mayor of Lutsk, renewed the agreement on cooperation marking 20th anniversary of twinning between the two cities. Further, a declaration on the continuation of cross-border cooperation between Lublin and Lutsk was signed during this event. In 2017, the city of Lublin was awarded the Europe Prize during the Congress where as a declaration of cooperation between the science and technology park in Dnipro (Ukraine) and Minsk (Belarus) was concluded in 2018.

The Congress in Lublin hosted many experts, specialists and unquestioned leaders, such as Danuta Hübner – the first Polish Commissioner in the EU and Member of the European Parliament, former President of Ukraine – Viktor Yushchenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland, Andrii Deshchytsia, Ewa Synowiec – representative of the European Commission, Refat Chubarov – President of the Crimean Tartar Medjlis, as well as Zbigniew Bujak, Jerzy Buzek, Bogdan Klich, Jan Piekło, Jan Truszczyński.

Together, we celebrated important anniversaries at the Congress, i.e.: the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Ukraine and other EP countries, the 700th anniversary of granting city rights to Lublin, the 100th anniversary of the Independence of Poland, as well as the 450th anniversary of signing the Lublin Union. The events were attended by Ambassadors and other high ranking officials from 7 countries.

For several years now, the Congress has been under the honorary patronage of the European Commission and is co-financed by both European funds and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

An important element of the Congress is Grants Fair. It enables participants to meet representatives of grant institutions or entities that support implementation of cross-border projects. Further, another key event is Partners’ Forum – a space dedicated to organisations seeking international partners. The Congress programme also includes a number of cultural events: exhibitions, grand openings, literary meetings, film screenings, concerts and theatre performances.

In 2020, the Programme Council decided to expand the formula of Congress and modify the event name to Cross-Border Cooperation Congress taking into account constantly developing geopolitical surroundings and new, multidimensional challenges Europe faced. Currently, Congress continues to be an idea and networking sharing platform between stakeholders from both the EU, European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) countries, and new frameworks of multilateral cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, such as the Lublin Triangle.

In 2023 Lublin became European Youth Capital, hence the slogan of the 12th edition of the Congress was the City of Youth.

Several hundred people from 14 countries: Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Indonesia, Moldova, Norway, Ukraine, Hungary, Great Britain participated in panels, workshops and study visits. Moreover, an international group of young people took part in a three-day workshop session "How to create youth-friendly cities? – We are shaping up the future". The outcome of their work was summarized in the closing panel “Europe may be formed – youth cooperation and participation”, during which young people submitted their recommendations regarding significant, for them, issues and social problems.

During panels, workshops and study visits, we discussed youth civic engagement, local youth policies and the youth work, as well as the way the young generation was pushing the job market and business to change.

Obviously, we did not forget the challenges of the ongoing war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia’s unprecedented attack on the independent country, and its long-term effects, particularly acute for a generation of young people. In that context, we looked into the issue of youth migration and its role in intercultural integration and tackling discrimination.

Study visits in youth spaces, youth related venues and projects were in great demand among Congress participants. The Grants’ Fair was devoted to the presentation of grant competitions by Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE), the International Visegrad Fund and the presentation of the Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine Program 2021-2027. Partners’ Forum showcased youth organisations and youth project opportunities.

The event was also accompanied by a cultural programme, including an exceptional concert of Haydamaky, a rock group from Ukraine.

The Congress was streamed online with simultaneous Polish, English and Ukrainian interpretation.

Cross-Border Cooperation Congress has become a permanent fixture on the calendar of Lublin’s most important international events as a meeting place for practitioners of cross-border cooperation from the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries. The Congress is a platform for dialogue between local governments, non-governmental organizations, science, culture and business. Thousands of people from over 40 countries have participated in the previous editions of the Congress.

Last year’s edition of the Congress was held on October 5-7, 2022 in a hybrid format (participants onsite in Lublin and on-line), with simultaneous translation into Polish, English and Ukrainian.

The main theme of the 11th edition of the Congress was “Security and Solidarity”. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the refugee crisis it triggered have demonstrated the strength of the bonds between local communities from Ukraine, Poland and the whole democratic Europe. The often underestimated city partnerships, many years of cooperation between cultural institutions, schools, universities and non-governmental organizations have built intercultural and organizational competences that allowed to create an effective system of support for millions of refugees and humanitarian aid to the fighting Ukraine.

We invited city representatives from different parts of Europe to participate in the discussion to summarize the cooperation of local communities in support for Ukraine and its citizens from a broad perspective. During the open debate with the authorities of the cities involved in helping Ukraine, we talked about their experiences from the first weeks after the outbreak of the war. The starting point for further discussion was the presentation of the experiences of Lublin, where the Lublin Social Committee for Aid to Ukraine was established just a few hours after the outbreak of the war. Established on the initiative of non-governmental organizations from Lublin in cooperation with the local government, supported by a multitude of volunteers, it offered comprehensive assistance to refugees arriving in the city.

In the Congress program, we planned a wide range of interesting topics related to the current situation, including: cooperation and medical assistance for Ukraine, the functioning of the administration and judiciary during the war, and the phenomenon of disinformation and manipulation. There was also a panel presenting war from a female perspective: “War through the eyes of women, women at war”.

As the next year’s European Youth Capital, we invited young people from all over Europe to the meetings and debates. Thanks to the initiative “Youth for the City, City for Youth – projects and initiatives involving and including local communities”, we created space for young people from Poland, Norway, Ukraine and Belarusians for discussion during panels and workshops as well as study visits within the Congress. We talked about forming youth policies with the participation of young people themselves, about the experience of migration and the role of young people in intercultural integration and combating discrimination.

Last year’s Congress was accompanied by Cross-Border Cooperation Academy – a week-long workshop for young leaders from the Visegrad Group and the Eastern Partnership on, in particular, activities for intercultural integration.

An important area of the Congress was the sustainable and innovative development of public transport. Within the project “MOVE IT LIKE LUBLIN” implemented in partnership with Chișinău, there was a panel, workshop and study visit on innovative solutions in public transport.

Traditionally, there were the Grants’ Fair and the Partners’ Forum, combined with the presentation of the new financial perspective of the Program Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021-2027 (former Cross-border Cooperation Programme PL-BY-UA).

The main feature of the Congress is a diverse cultural program. Last year, it was possible to participate live or on-line in performances, concerts, exhibitions and meetings with the slogan “City beyond the borders”. Within a short period of time, the immigrant community already present in Poland was joined by several million refugees and women refugees from Ukraine, Belarus and other countries at war or ruled by authoritarian regimes. In this situation, the topic of integration, inclusion through culture, but also providing creators with a safe space for artistic expression, became extremely topical. Using the language of art, we examined the challenges and threats to the freedom of creativity and artistic expression, in times of growing conflicts and the tendency to close oneself within one’s own boundaries – both literal and metaphorical.

This jubilee edition of an annual meeting of Cross-border Cooperation practitioners from the EU and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries was held on 5–7 October for the first time ever in a hybrid format with participants in situ and on-line.
‘City and Region 2030’ was a central theme of this year’s edition. The Congress was about cities and regions’ future in respect of new development challenges to be faced in a wake of the pandemic. There was a good number of panels, discussions and workshops with local government officials, experts, business and third sector people in attendance. Participants were afforded opportunity to learn about financial support under given grant programmes or to network with potential project partners at Grants’ Fair and Partners’ Forum. A study visit to Puławy Science-Technology Park was an excellent add-on to the Congress’ agenda, just as ‘Fuckup Night’ — an evening get-together where business people share their stories of failure. The Congress was content-packed with cultural events. Belarusian culture was a special feature this year.

The opening panel attended by politicians and diplomats from Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine focussed on a new format of international cooperation in the region – Lublin Triangle – against a background of today’s geopolitics in the region with particular reference to Belarus.
At ‘Green Cities’ workshop, local governments and NGO experts from Poland, Georgia and Ukraine, shared their insights into challenges that local governments face when involving local communities in greenery planning and revitalisation.
As Lublin was selected European Youth Capital 2023, each day of the Congress included events related to youngsters. On the first day, a panel ‘Youth participation: Best Practices of consulting young people and children in local government projects’ opened aforementioned block. Experts from Sweden, the USA and Austria joined in on-line. The panel was moderated by Borys Martela, an expert from the Institute for Urban and Regional Development in Krakow.
Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine, partnered and hosted the event (Grants’ Fair and Partners’ Forum) on the first day of the Congress. This meeting was a chance to learn about provisions of 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and procedures for receiving subsidies. At Partners’ Forum, many participants from 3 countries under the Programme were able to contact potential partners directly.

On the second day, Business dominated the Congress. It started with a workshop on start-ups development with incubation managers from Unicorn Hub (Poland) offering their input. This was followed by the main panel ‘Innovative business inside innovative self-government’ with Polish, Ukrainian and Spanish CEOs contributing to the matter. A visit to Puławy Science-Technology Park was extremely popular.
In the afternoon of that day, journalists and media representatives from Poland, Ukraine and Moldova, commented in an interesting way on the role and responsibility of the media in building communities.
International Visegrad Fund hosted Partners’ Forum and Grants’ Fair on the second day of the Congress. The fundamental principles of the Fund were presented by Mr Petr Mareš, Institution’s Director.
‘Culture for young people and young people in culture’ was the second youth-oriented event during the Congress. Attendees from Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus held a very interesting discussion about the changes in the ways young people use culture and digital media.
Day 2 was concluded with an ‘evening of failures’ — a meeting under popular Fuckup Night formula. Managers from Sollers Consulting, Bolt, and Eagle8 shared their experiences on how failure is an inherent part of doing business and how failure can be turned into success in the end.

The third day of the Congress began with a block on Culture. A talk between two eminent personalities — Professor Grzegorz Hausner and Paweł Potoroczyn, was an intellectual feast and instructive lesson on today’s challenges. They were presented during the first panel ‘Economy as Culture’. A lecture by Professor Przemysław Czapliński titled ‘Increasing doubt: the works of Stanisław Lem and Tadeusz Różewicz. Intention’, complemented the discussion. The event was concluded with a screening of a street art project ‘Różewicz-Lem-Hartwig’. It documented how a mural devoted to these outstanding figures in Polish culture was painted in Lublin.
‘Towards European Youth Capital’, was a workshop to exchange best cooperation practices with young people, youth organisations, and local authorities. Insights came from respective youth capitals: Klaipėda (EYC 2021), Tirana (EYC 2022), Lublin (EYC 2023), and Lviv (EYC 2024 finalist).
Participants of ‘Culture. Technology. Accessibility’ workshop talked about increasing culture accessibility at the local seminar of CreArt 2021 — Network of Cities for Artistic Creation.
Agenda was concluded with a panel on women’s role in foreign policy. A report by Małgorzata Kopka-Piątek and Iwona Reichardt entitled ‘Will Women Save the World’ prompted this discussion. Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz also attended the panel besides report’s authors.
Lublin in solidarity with Belarus! — this was the motto for the artistic part of Cross-border Cooperation Congress Lublin 2021.
Due to the present situation in our eastern neighbour, this year’s cultural events were devoted to present and support independent Belarusian culture and artists. On 4 October (the evening before Congress’ opening) there was a unique concert of Belarusian music in a tightly packed concert hall in the Workshops of Culture in Lublin — note that the hall was filled observing sanitary regime. The concert featured well-known Belarusian artists, who were forced to flee their homeland and carry on with their careers in Poland: Isna Trio, Yegor Zabelov, Ana Zhdanova and Naviband.
Touching photos were presented in ‘The REM sleep’ exhibition by Belarusian photographer Zmicer Waynowski. During the exhibition’s opening, on display at Łokietka Square (in front of Lublin’s Town Hall), the author was not able to hide his emotions when talking about his photographed friends, who were sentenced to long imprisonments for protesting against authoritarian regime.
A great deal of positive emotions was delivered by Kryly Khalopa theatre through its spectacle ‘Frau mit automat’ — a story about oppressive towards women social system, regardless of the time or political situation. A discussion followed the performance, inspired by the 20th anniversary of the theatre. Actors were honoured with the Medal of the Mayor of the City of Lublin.

In 2020, the Congress was held in a new format and was renamed to Cross-Border Cooperation Congress. Due to a world-wide spread of COVID-19 pandemic, to make the 9th edition of the Congress work, was a bit of a challenge. The Congress was moved entirely to virtual space, where, from the studio in Lublin, we connected with the Congress’ participants via a modern platform. The Congress was translated into three languages simultaneously – Polish, English and Russian.
‘Local Government of Tomorrow. Between Openness and Responsibility’, was Congress’ predominant theme. We focused on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to local communities across Europe.
The four days of the Congress were filled with panels and workshops with eminent European experts in attendance, such as Charles Landry (United Kingdom), Professor Aleksander Sogomonov (Russia), Rasmus Wiinstedt Tscherning (Denmark), Marharyta Zhenchuk (Ukraine), and Krzysztof Czyżewski (Poland). Talks focused on four thematic areas.
Cross-Border Cooperation Congress was accompanied by Partners' Forum in order to facilitate more effective communication and exchange of experiences between organisations seeking international partners, and by Grants’ Fair, that showcased the opportunities to obtain funds from the selected grant programmes.
Moreover, a meeting of city councillors was held for the first time ever in the history of the Congress. Councillors talked about functioning of the local government during the pandemic and a would-be collaboration between partner cities.
Best Practice Contest enjoyed a great success. Best solutions on community and cross-border cooperation in the face of the Coronavirus were selected, and all participants of the Congress could cast their votes in an on-line voting, and thus decide on the winning practice.
As every year, Congress’ programme included side events, that were live streamed, held by Congress’ partners, and cultural events, which are now available on-line for further reference.

Last year's 8th edition of the Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress was dedicated to unique events and their role in our contemporary reality.
For Lublin, 2019 was a special year – the 450th Anniversary of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, called the Union of Lublin, fell on 1st July. This was a great opportunity to reflect on the common and different cultural and historical heritage of our country and neighbors, as well as the important role of Lublin and our region in shaping the European community of nations. We showed in that jubilee year how to draw from the heritage and experience of the Union of Lublin and build the future of present Europe. Moreover, it was a time when a number of other anniversaries coincided: the 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, the 15th Anniversary of Poland's Accession to the European Union, the 20th Anniversary of Poland's Membership in NATO and the 30th Anniversary of Democratic Transformations in the Central European Region.
This was an excellent starting point for a discussion about the future of modern Europe, its identity, challenges that need to be faced, and the need for deeper integration and cooperation. As an important element of the discussion, there also took place panels dedicated to regional partnerships, transnational and regional cooperation.
Las year's Congress covered also important issues related to heritage and reconciliation, local democracy as well as science and education, which was so important for the constantly reforming Ukraine. What’s more, the panels devoted to tourism, culture, innovations, mobility and broadly understood equality were very interesting.
The debates focused on showing how many areas of regional cooperation exist across the EU with neighboring Eastern Partnership countries, and how to efficiently build agreements and lasting partner relations on many fields.

7th edition of Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress was dedicated to building lasting relationships of regional cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the 100-year tradition of independence, grassroots and liberation.
During the opening ceremony of the Congress, the solemn inaugural lecture "European perspective or sectoral cooperation for the associated partner countries of the Eastern Partnership? What is the future of the project for the Eastern Partnership?" was delivered by Bartosz Cichocki - undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassadors and representatives of important international institutions from 7 countries participated in the opening panel "Dreams about freedom - in the 100th anniversary of independence".
The content provided in the opening panel, on the one hand, stressed the hundredth anniversary of Polish independence, and on the other, emphasized its international context among invited guests from Europe and the Eastern Partnership. The panel allowed us to look at the efforts of sovereignty from the perspective of 100 years, also through the eyes of representatives of various nations. It helped the participants of the panel to understand that each independence was obtained to some extent at the cost of the neighbors' aspirations.
The Congress program included 49 discussion panels in 7 thematic lines.
During the Congress, there also took place the Donors' Fair, Partner Forum, which was partaken by 38 institutions and a dozen or so accompanying events: exhibition opening, literary meetings, film screening, concert, bike ride and a warmly welcomed by the participants discussion about the Donbass war. During the event, a cooperation declaration was signed between the science and technology park in Dnipro (Ukraine) and in Minsk (Belarus).
The Congress was attended by about 800 people, half of whom were foreign guests.

In 2017 6th Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress was opened with a significant event - the Council of Europe granted the city of Lublin the Europe Prize award. The city has been appreciated for its active promotion of European values and ideas through, inter alia, organization of interesting cultural and civil events of European coverage. Moreover, the 6th Congress has been one of the elements of the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of granting Lublin its city rights. The 6th edition of the Congress was devoted to the development prospects of the Central and Eastern Europe, as well as development challenges faced by cities and towns, taking into account the needs of their citizens. Invited guests discussed future local initiatives for Lublin and neighbouring countries. Due to numerous dangers contemporary Europe is currently exposed to, an important role in the agenda was played by the "Policy and Security" thematic area. Much attention was also paid to innovation which not only allows to implement particular tasks in a less expensive, but more rapid and effective way, but also they also significantly improve the quality of our everyday lives. This year's Congress addressed also important issues of science and education, mobility and local democracy which is of crucial importance for currently reforming Ukraine. A seminar by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held during the Congress in partnership with Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Inaugural lecture was delivered by Refat Chubarov - Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. During the Congress, other keynote speeches were made by, among others, Jerzy Buzek, Bogdan Klich, Waldemar Sługocki and Jan Piekło.
The Congress was also accompanied by International Donors' Fair and over a dozen side events, including "Three Sisters" play by Anton Chekhov (performed by Ukrainian artists within the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of granting Lublin its rights), the Legend of the Devil's Paw and the Devilish Court, author's meeting with Oleksandr Boychenko, and Congress Club.

The 2016 fifth edition of the Congress gathered more than 1000 participants from such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, USA and the United Kingdom. Panel discussions took place in Lublin Conference Centre, while side events were scattered around the city, including Musical Theatre in Lublin, Lublin art galleries, Hieronim Łopaciński Public Library of Lubelskie Voivodeship in Lublin, and more. 5th Congress distinguished itself with a generous thematic offer covering 12 programme areas, 44 panel discussions, 233 speakers, a number of study visits and cultural side events such as movie screenings, shows, workshops, and meetings with authors. Moreover, an International Fair for Partners and Donors was organized where information on financing international and cross-border projects was provided, as well as new partnerships for future joint undertakings were established.
An inaugural lecture was given by former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko. Subsequently, the floor was taken by, among others, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland, Andriy Deshchytsia, European Commission representative, Ewa Synowiec, and Zbigniew Bujak, Maciej Fałkowski and Krzysztof Stanowski. During the Congress, the Mayor of the City of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk, and the Mayor of the City of Lutsk, Mykola Romanyuk, renewed the cooperation agreement due to the 20th anniversary of partnership, and signed declaration of continuation of cross-border collaboration.
Furthermore, the Congress celebrated the 25th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership states. There was a chance to pay tribute to those countries in different languages. A publication containing lyrics of national anthems of the post-Soviet region was released too. Finally, a photographic exhibition entitled “25 years of independence of Ukraine – Ukraine which we don’t know” was also presented.

4th edition of the Congress, which was held in October 2015, was organized as a promotion of the 25th anniversary of Polish self-governance. During the debates, the participants shared their positive experiences in the field of systemic transformation and presented best practices of using European funds dedicated to regional development. The discussions continued on multidimensional security issues in Eastern Europe, students’ mobility, innovation in tourist offers of cities and their cultural heritage. Invited guests attempted to analyse the impact which culture has on social transformations. They also addressed issues regarding settling post-communist past, and using renewable energy sources and managing waste disposal and collection in a sustainable way.

Held on 2-4 October 2014, the 3rd Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress focused on the main problems and challenges in Central and Eastern Europe. The decade of Polish membership of the European Union was summarized in cooperation with Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2013, thanks to the 2nd Congress, Lublin became a place where cultural environment, academia, central and local authorities, creators and decision-makers engaged into dialogue between each other. EEIC 2013 agenda covered 9 programme areas, introducing new ones such as Tourism, Social Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Heritage, and Contexts. A special cultural programme – Culture for the Eastern Partnership – was also implemented. Congress debates were accompanied with artistic shows and presentations of best cultural practices demonstrating the diversity of contemporary cultures of Eastern Partnership states within the Festival Integrations-Mediations.

The Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress was organized for the first time in 2012. It provided an extended approach to the idea of Eastern Partnership Culture Congress which was held a year before. It was a time when artists, cultural managers and animators, representatives of ministries, local governments, NGOs, academia and the media for EaP states, the EU, as well as Russia and other European countries produced recommendations regarding cultural cooperation between the EaP and the EU. Establishing a Cultural Cooperation Network for the Eastern Partnership was a prominent task for the Congress then.