We can do more to increase knowledge about Poland in Great Britain

Cultural, scientific and academic cooperation is very important, and in my opinion we can do more in this area especially, because there’s still not enough knowledge about Poland in Britain – says Arkady Rzegocki, the Polish ambassador in an interview with Brin Best.

 Although you began your mission as Polish Ambassador in the UK a year ago today, you are not new to Polish-British projects. Tell us more about this topic

“Yes I was involved in many Polish-British projects before I became Polish Ambassador in the UK. For example, in my previous role at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków I organised three editions of a postgraduate course which focussed on the Polish-British strategic partnership. In order to carry out the role of Ambassador I took some sabbatical leave from the university.

When I was asked to become Ambassador in the UK I thought it would be wonderful to represent the Republic of Poland and I felt it would be a continuation of my previous work. What was more theoretical in the past has become more practical now. When I took up my role as Ambassador I knew that it was a special time for Polish-British relations, and there is much more opportunity than before for our two countries to work together. So I thought immediately of new projects and opportunities for cooperation.”

Have you seen many good examples of Polish-British cooperation during your first year as Ambassador?

“It was a year ago today (26 August) that I started my mission. It was a very difficult start, because just after I took up the role there was the terrible tragedy in Harlow, with the killing of Arkadiusz Jóźwik. I have, however, seen a lot of good examples of British-Polish cooperation during my first year as Ambassador. First of all we have to remember that the Polish diaspora has been present in the UK for many decades, with the oldest Polish parish being created in 1894. A more permanent presence of Poles in the UK goes back to the 1940s. So over many decades you can find a lot of examples of good cooperation. We also have to remember the Polish immigrants from the 1950s and the 1980s, the time of the Solidarity movement and martial law in Poland. Last but not least, we must remember the last Polish immigrants, who came to the UK after Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. So in all these groups, and across all these generations, you can find a lot of very interesting links, projects and cooperation between Polish and British people.”

 What specific opportunities do you see for Polish and British people to cooperate?

“I feel we have a real opportunity to make our cooperation stronger now, and to make our societies closer than ever. This is possible because of many decades of working together, where many things have already been done, for example by Polish soldiers in many places in England and Scotland, where people still remember cooperation in the past. There are also many physical representations too, such as the Great Polish Map of Scotland near Edinburgh (completed in the 1970s), which was built by a friend from the Jagiellonian University and by a team from the City Hall in Kraków.

There are many opportunities which arise from the fact that there are at least one million Polish nationals living in the UK now, together with many British people with Polish roots. This makes Polish people the largest minority group in the UK today. Furthermore, the growing Polish economy has created more and more economic links between Poland and the UK. Poland is a very dynamic country today, with more and more common interests with Britain.

I also feel there are many opportunities for further political cooperation, which is often strategic in nature. Additionally, I feel that there are great opportunities for cooperation in the cultural, scientific and academic fields.”

What can British and Polish people do in order to cooperate more effectively?

“Cultural, scientific and academic cooperation is very important, and in my opinion we can do more in this area especially, because there’s still not enough knowledge about Poland in Britain. When we know more about each other’s culture there will be more British investment in Poland and more Polish investment in Britain.

First of all I’d like to encourage Poles, and people who like Poland, to be even more active like you have been in your work on the POLES IN THE UK Project. I would like them to explain more about Poland to their British friends and neighbours, to organise some small events in schools, town halls and pubs, and just to be less shy about sharing this information.

Most British people who visit Poland do so because they have Polish friends, so I feel the one million Poles here should encourage their British friends to visit Poland and know more about the country. I feel we need to change awareness, as Poland was not present in British minds for many decades because of the Iron Curtain; not in the curriculum in British schools nor in academic programmes. I think it’s about time we change that. I’ve been working with the Ministries of Education in Poland and the UK in the hope that we can prepare some materials for schools in Britain about Poland.

We have to work in every field of culture and every field of academic cooperation. For example, there are not enough Polish books in British libraries and bookshops – including Polish literature in the Polish language and translated into English. If British people could understand better the literature of Poland, they could understand better the modern country of Poland. We’re also trying to encourage leading theatres in the UK to present plays by Polish writers, including Jan Kochanowski, who from the 16^th to the 19^th century was the most important writer in the Slavic languages. We also have to cooperate with all of central Europe with this work, because unfortunately all these countries are not well known in Britain.

We’re also trying to encourage British institutions such as councils, schools and museums to provide more information in Polish. We sometimes see information provided in ten languages but not Polish, even though Poles are the largest non-British community locally. This is important, from a cooperation point of view, because it will make Poles who live here feel better.”

What do you hope can be achieved during the remainder of your mission as Ambassador?

“I want to keep our political cooperation as close as possible, and we now have intergovernmental consultations that will help with this work. For the first time in history the British government decided to have such consultations, and in November last year the first meeting took place, involving the Polish and British Prime Ministers and senior ministers from their governments. We also have the Belvedere Forum, an annual event which aims to make our non-governmental cooperation better. It will allow people to meet and it will encourage people to be more active. I wish to encourage twinning between British and Polish settlements, and I’ve had discussions with many mayors of British cities about this topic, as not enough British cities and towns are twinned with places in Poland.

There’s also not enough exchange of young people between Britain and Poland. Although Britain has good exchange links with Germany and many other countries, unfortunately there are very few such links with Poland. The same can be said for students at university too, with the Erasmus schemes between Britain and Poland not being very popular. I feel we need to change this. We’re working on keeping our cooperation as close as possible, even after Brexit, and I hope Britain can continue to be part of the Erasmus scheme, as many non-EU countries are today.

Economic cooperation is very important and I feel there is not enough cooperation in this area at present. If you compare investment in Poland by Britain compared to the investment of other European countries in Poland, I feel things could be better. The British Polish Chamber of Commerce is very active in many areas of the UK, but they are often finding that the barrier to progress is simply lack of knowledge. British businesspeople are not thinking of investing in Poland because they simply don’t know the country; they don’t realise how fast our economy is growing, and how dynamic our society is.”

How have you found living in the UK?

“I love Britain and have been interested in this country for many, many years. I’ve carried out a lot of research here, about political thought and British culture. And my wife is interested in British and Polish theatre. So on our first trip together here, before we came to live in the UK, I showed my wife ‚my England’ – including Oxford, Cambridge and Canterbury – and she showed me her ‚theatrical Britain’. It is wonderful for my children too and they also enjoy living here, although they miss Poland of course. They attend English schools and their English is getting better and better by the day!”

Interview by Brin Best

 Brin Best is the founder of the POLES IN THE UK Project and the co-author of the book ‚Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation’, which can be downloaded for free from www.polesintheuk.net.