German-Polish border celebrations

20 October marks the beginning of this year’s Polish-German Cooperation Days which, as every year, build and strengthen the sense of community in the border area. The event will feature a range of cultural, educational, sporting and business activities. Online registration is required for two conferences – one on cross-border labour law and the other on business logistics and e-commerce.

This is the fifth edition of the event. This time the Polish-German Cooperation Days will be a special occasion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of signing the Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation, which laid the foundation for close, solid and partner relations between the two countries.

“Maintaining the existing relations of Szczecin and its residents with German partners, as well as creating and developing the domain of exchanging experiences and establishing contacts in the economic, cultural and educational sectors are the main goals of this annual event ‒ the Polish-German Cooperation Days. The city’s border location is a predestination for developing an effective interdisciplinary platform for relations with our neighbours”, said Piotr Krzystek, Mayor of Szczecin.

This year’s Days will begin with a panel discussion on “Interdisciplinary cooperation as the future of good neighbourliness” to be attended by personalities important to the Polish-German border region. The discussion will touch upon three thematic issues: international relations, culture, and education. It will be possible to watch it via live stream available on the event website.

Labour law, logistics and e-commerce

During the Days, on 21 October, there will also be two important online conferences, for which registration is mandatory. One of them is the Cross-border Conference entitled “Sustainable labour market across borders ‒ selected aspects of labour law”. Differences between Polish and German law, conclusion and termination of contracts, as well as protection of employees’ rights ‒ these are the main issues that will be discussed during the event. On the same day, another conference will be held, namely “The Polish-German conference on logistics and e-commerce”, during which the most important trends and solutions in these two branches, so crucial for our city in terms of its geographical location, will be discussed.

Cultural, educational and sports activities

This year’s Days will also provide an opportunity for many accompanying events: sports and cultural activities, meetings and lectures. Some of them will take place online, others will be organised in a traditional way. The plan is to visit the historic rooms of the Lentz Villa and the Museum of Technology and Communication. You will also be able to listen to a lecture on “Forced labour in Pomerania during World War II”, to watch a film about PoMore TanzOrkiestra, a Polish-German music group whose aim is to bring traditional music from Pomerania back to life, or to take part in an intercultural workshop for parents of children as part of the project entitled “Teaching your neighbour’s language from kindergarten to graduation”.

The programme also includes a number of cultural events. The organisers are inviting you to several interesting exhibitions in Villa Lentz, including the photographic “Reichstag” by Elżbieta Kargol and “A-Z (Report 2019/2020)” by Andrzej Tobis, or the theatre performances “Mother” and “Kaspar Hauser” at the Contemporary Theatre and Kana Theatre. In addition, on the Szczecin Philharmonic channel, you will be able to listen to a rebroadcast of the “Female composers ‒ untold herstories” concert. Finally, sports fans will be able to take part in a Nordic walking march, which will start at Jasne Błonia.

Five years of tradition

The Polish-German Cooperation Days is a series of meetings and events organised by the City of Szczecin highlighting the cross-border cooperation of Szczecin with German cities and partners. The event is annual, the first edition was held in 2016. The event’s programme is filled with proposals for entrepreneurs leading to the intensification of economic relations, a series of cultural events, as well as meetings, forums and workshops organised as part of Polish-German projects carried out by the City of Szczecin.

More information about the event and registration forms can be found on: www.dwpn.szczecin.eu. 

The event is sponsored by Szczecińska Energetyka Cieplna.