The Summer School for the Promotion of Democratic Values was attended by students from Odessa's Ilya Mynichkov National University and SEA-EU universities. This was made possible thanks to the National Agency for Academic Exchange funding.

The Summer School for the Promotion of Democratic Values took place at the University of Gdańsk from August 13-24. Its organiser, the Centre for Student and Doctoral Activities, aimed to initiate a discussion on universal humanist values and their impact on democratic systems, particularly in the context of the escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

It was significant for the organisers and participants that the event occurred in Gdańsk, the cradle of Solidarity, the movement that initiated democratic changes in Poland and the Eastern Bloc.

The practical dimension of the school remained extremely important. Over several days, participants were to learn basic photographic and film techniques to help them record the world around them, critically assess it, and share their observations in the media space.

Photography classes were led by Mikołaj Janiak from the Department of Image Anthropology of the Institute of Journalism UG. Through them, participants learned a brief history of photography and basic photographic techniques they used in the field. They also learned the basics of digital processing of their photographs.

They were introduced to analogue photography in a traditional darkroom by dr hab. Karolina Aszyk-Treppa, prof. UG, thanks to whom the students and doctoral students learned how photographs were developed 20 years ago.

Participants learned about the technical basics of filmmaking thanks to a workshop conducted by Maciej Łojewski from the Faculty of Art at the University of Warmia and Mazury and the Monkey Film Studio. They saw what professional equipment associated with film technology looks like and learned how to make good films with more accessible tools. They also gained essential skills in film editing and made short films, which will be screened soon.

One of the school's main objectives was to enable a discussion on democratic values. Dr hab. Jarosław Nocoń, prof. UG talked about these issues during his lecture. Participants were taught about democracy as a system and how to resolve disputes and develop consensus.

Thanks to the meeting with dr Krzysztof Piekarski and dr Tomasz Lenkiewicz, participants learned about the communist system in the People's Republic of Poland in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as how ‘Solidarity’ was established and what it was. They also learned how the trade union, led by Lech Wałęsa, influenced the collapse of the People's Republic of Poland and significantly affected the system’s dismantling throughout the Eastern Bloc. The meeting was all the more valuable as the speakers shared their private memories of the rise of Solidarity and martial law times.

Jarosław 'Doktor' Janiszewski, the leader of, among others, the group 'Bielizna', one of the most significant music bands operating within the so-called 'Gdańsk Alternative Scene', a specific (not only due to its location) trend in Polish alternative music, talked about his memories of the 1980s. Jarosław Janiszewski not only talked about the place GSA music occupied on the musical map of Poland but also about how things seemingly unrelated to politics in times of authoritarian rule gained such a dimension due to the oppressiveness of state authorities. The artist also presented videos by the group 'Bielizna' with socio-political overtones and performed several songs live, which elicited applause from the audience.

At the end of the school, a meeting was held with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education Quality, dr hab. Arnold Kłonczyński, prof. UG. During the meeting, participants received certificates of graduation from the school. They discovered how the University of Gdańsk's cooperation with the Odessa University and SEA-EU member universities has gone so far and the plans for future collaboration. They also discussed the issues of possible multilateral academic exchanges, the functioning of interdisciplinary, international research teams and how the university from Ukraine will find its place in the European higher education space.

In addition to workshops and meetings, participants took part in study visits to Gdańsk museums.

Text and photo Łukasz Bień