In Warsaw from 8th to 9th March 2017 a Polish-British Belvedere Forum took place. It is a new initiative which aims at expansion and deepening of the dialogue between British and Polish civil society. The inauguration of the Forum took place in the Warsaw Belvedere the official residence of the President of the Republic of Poland which additionally lent its name to this annual event organized alternately in Great Britain and in Poland. The Forum will be a chance to meet for various entities mainly from the non-government sector from both countries including leading representatives from science, business, culture institutions, media, MPs and diaspory. Participation in the Forum is only possible upon a personal invitation. We are extremely pleased to inform that such an invitation was received by Janusz Cieślak – President of the European Business Club Poland.
The initiative to organize the Polish-British Belvedere Forum is of a non-government nature, however it is fully supported by the governments of Poland and Great Britain. As a matter of fact, the creation of the Polish-British Civil Society Forum is the aftermath of the agreements made by Prime Ministers of both countries in November 2016 in Great Britain. At that time the parties agreed that the annual collateral Forum will be a great chance to extend and deepen the dialogue of the societies of both countries. Moreover, it will be a significant fulfillment of the annual Polish-British governmental consultations.
In order to set strategic directions for the Belvedere Forum a Steering Committee has been established where the co-leaders are from the Polish side Ryszard Czarnecki – Vice President of the European Parliament and from the British side – Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Bachelor Commodore Order of St. Michael and St. George, Advisor to the Queen, former Minister of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Steering Committee put out a will that this year’s Belvedere Forum will concern the discussion over the future of mutual relations “Great Britain-Poland 2025: New Reality”.
