International conference entitled. "People's University as a school of conscious citizenship".

The West Pomeranian Folk University in Mierzyn, the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Szczecin, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Naval Academy in Gdynia and the All-Poland Network of Folk Universities are pleased to invite you to an international conference entitled. "The People's University as a school of conscious citizenship", which will be held on October 25-26, 2024 at the headquarters of the Marshall's Office of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Szczecin.
November 1, 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the People's University in Szyce near Kraków, which was the first secular institution of its kind in free Poland. It was there that the great civic ideas of the People's Republic of Poland and the foundations of education towards democracy were born by Ignacy Solarz (1891-1940?) - an outstanding educator and pedagogue. This anniversary is an excellent pretext to make some summaries and syntheses, as well as to take up the consideration of the future of people's universities in our country.
We would like to host both theoreticians and researchers of these issues, as well as people who animate the work of folk universities in Poland and abroad on a daily basis. We hope for a synergistic effect of the debate related to the international exchange of views between the communities of scholars and practitioners of UL's educational and upbringing activities. The organizers of the meeting are anxious that the participants of the conference create a platform for the exchange of experiences and good practices in the field of building democracy through participation in various forms of non-formal adult education in Poland and abroad - with particular emphasis on the role of people's universities in this regard.
To give the debate a broader context, Polish specialists in the field of civic education and democracy-building in and through educational institutions, as well as references from other countries, will also be invited to participate in the seminar. Their speeches will undoubtedly enrich the message of the meeting, as well as allow comparisons to be made on the place of people's universities and related educational entities in democracy building in Poland and around the world.
The seminar will be enriched by a session with doyens of Polish ULs and an exhibition entitled. "Pedagogical ideas of Ignacy Solarz (1891-1940?) - lessons for contemporaries".
The conference under the scientific patronage of the Academic Andragogical Society will be organized and subsidized under the Program for Supporting the Development of People's Universities for 2020-2030.